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Ov4 

MX 


THE  LOEB  CLASSICAL  LIBRARY 


EDITED  BY 
'1'.  E.  PAGE,  LITT.D. 

E.  CAPPS,  PH.D.,  I.L.D.  W.  H.  D.  ROUSE, 


LITT.D, 


OVID 

THE  ART  OF  LOVE,  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


•  -  » 


t 


I 


OVID 

THE  ART  OF  LOVE,  AND 
OTHER  POEMS 

WITH  AN  ENGLISH  TRANSLATION  BY 

J.  H.  MOZLEY 

SOMETIME  SCHOLAR  OP  KING’S  COLLEGE,  CAMBIUDGE, 
LECTURER  IN  CLASSICS,  UNIVERSITY  OP  LONDON 

DE  MEDICAMINE  FACIEI  ARTIS  AMATORIAE 
I-III  REMEDIORUM  AMORIS  NUX  IBIS 
HALIEUTICON  CONSOLATIO  AD  LIVIAM 
APPENDIX  TO  IBIS 


LONDON  ;  WILLIAM  HEINEMANN 
NEW  YORK  :  G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 


MCMXXIX 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


CONTENTS 


ON  PAINTING  THE  FACE  . 
THE  ART  OF  LOVE.  BOOK  I 

5  >  )  J  J  > 

„  III 

THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE  . 
THE  WALNHT-TREE 

IBIS . 

ON  SEA-FISHING 
A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 
APPENDIX  TO  IBIS 
INDEX  OF  NAMES  .  . 

INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  .  . 


FAOE 

1 

11 

67 

119 

177 

235 

251 

309 

323 

359 

373 

381 


1  k 


INTRODUCTION 


The  poems  here  translated  consist  of  (i)  the  didactic 
poems  on  love,  namely,  the  fragment  On  Painting  the 
Face,  the  Art  of  Love,  and  the  Remedies  for  Love ; 
(ii)  four  miscellaneous  pieces,  the  fragment  on  sea¬ 
fishing,  the  Ihis,  the  Walmd-tree  and  the  Consolationi 
to  Livia,  of  which  the  last  two  are  generally  considered 
spurious. 


I.  The  Didactic  Love-poems. 

These  mark  the  final  stage  of  Ovid’s  first  poetical 
period,  his  previous  achievements  in  love-poetry  being 
the  Amores,  which  describe  his  own  experiences,  and 
the  Letters  of  the  Heroines^  It  seems  to  have  been 
an  original  idea  of  the  poet’s  to  include  love-making 
among  the  subjects  of  didactic  poetry,  examples  of 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  philosophical  poems 
of  Empedocles  or  Lucretius,  and  the  treatises  of  a 
Macer  on  herbs  or  of  a  Manilius  on  astronomy.  It 
was  perhaps  suggested  by  some  of  the  poems  in  the 
Amores ;  for  example,  i.  4,  in  which  he  gives  advice 
to  his  mistress  how  to  behave  in  her  husband’s 
presence,  or  ii.  '2,  in  which  a  eunuch  is  instructed 
how  to  relax  his  v^atch  over  his  charge,  or  i.  8,  in 

^  The  lost  tragedy  of  Medea  also  belongs  to  this  period. 

vii 


INTRODUCTION 


which  he  retails  the  advice  given  by  a  procuress  to 
a  courtesan. 

First,  we  have  a  fragment  on  cosmetics,  probably 
a  mere  versification  of  a  catalogue  of  recipes,  preceded 
by  a  comparison  of  the  smartness  of  modern  times 
with  the  rude  fashions  of  the  past,  w'hich  serves  as 
an  introduction  and  also  to  explain  the  importance 
of  the  subject.  Gaps  have  been  suspected  after  11. 
26  and  50,  and  the  work  as  w'e  have  it  is  unfinished. 
It  was  written  some  time  before  the  Ars  (J.  A.  iii. 
205). 

The  Art  of  Love  was  WTitten  just  at  the  turn  of 
the  eras.i  In  broad  outline  the  scheme  of  the  work 
is  as  follows :  in  Book  I  the  poet  gives  advice  as  to 
where  the  lover  may  find  a  mistress  to  his  taste 
(1—264),  and  then  as  to  how  she  is  to  be  won  (265- 
end);  in  Book  II  he  gives  a  number  of  precepts  for 
the  retaining  of  her  affections ;  Book  III  is  devoted 
to  the  women  in  their  turn,  and  they  too  receive 
advice  how  to  capture  and  to  retain  a  lover’s  affec¬ 
tions.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  Ars  has 
enjoyed  uninterrupted  popularity ;  Ovid’s  know¬ 
ledge  of  human,  particularly  of  feminine,  nature, 
the  brilliant  picture  of  the  social  life  of  Rome,  the 
studied  artlessness  of  the  comparisons  he  draws  from 
animals  and  from  pursuits  such  as  hunting,  farming 
or  sailing,  the  narratives  that  he  cannot  resist  inter¬ 
weaving  with  his  teaching  from  time  to  time — all 
these  elements,  together  with  a  considerable  degree 
of  humour,  his  cool  flippancy  and  irresistible  w  it,  have 
combined  to  give  the  work  a  unique  attractiveness. 

^  He  refers  to  the  naval  sham  fight  exhibited  by  Augustus 
in  2  B.c.  and  to  the  expedition  of  the  young  Gains  Caesar  to 
the  East  in  1  b.c. 

viii 


INIRODUCTION 


It  was  a  worthy  product  of  the  brilliant  and  reckless 
society  of  Augustan  Rome,  and  it  is  hardly  surprising 
that,  though  not  the  cause  of  the  poet’s  banishment, 
it  was  looked  upon  with  disapproval  by  the  Emperor. 
And  Ovid’s  plea  that  he  was  not  damaging  the  moral 
life  of  Rome  cannot  be  taken  very  seriously ;  it  is 
true  that  there  was  a  very  clearly  marked  difference 
between  the  respectable  ‘^matrona”  or  '‘virgo”  and 
the  “libertinae,”  and  that  Ovid’s  precepts  must  be 
taken  as  being  concerned  only  with  the  latter  class  ; 
intrigues  with  them,  whether  they  were  married  or 
unmarried,  were  regarded  in  quite  a  different  light, 
and  Ovid  makes  the  most  of  this  distinction ;  still, 
one  feels  that  his  protestations  are  rather  too  earnest 
to  be  really  ingenuous. 

Ovid,  however,  is  anything  but  an  indiscriminate 
sensualist ;  the  mere  harlot  he  will  have  none  of 
(ii.  685  sqq.)  ;  he  even  insists  on  a  high  standard  of 
culture  in  the  mistress  of  his  choice.  She  must  be 
a  “culta,”  even  a  “docta  puella,”  and  that  such 
cultivation  of  the  mind  was  seriously  aimed  at  by 
the  “libertinae”  may  be  gathered  from  his  remark 
(ii.  281-2),  that  though  many  aimed  at  being 
“  doctae,”  few  succeeded  in  their  aim.  His  standard 
is  certainly  high,  for  she  must  be  accomplished  in 
arts  and  languages,  and  have  read  Callimachus, 
Philetas,  Anacreon,  Menander,  Sappho,  besides 
contemporary  Latin  verse.  Less  exacting  require¬ 
ments  are  that  she  should  be  tasteful,  elegant, 

•% 

^  The  real  cause  seems  to  have  been  some  discreditable 
event  in  which  Ovid  was  concerned  (cf.  “cur  aliquid  vidi? 
cur  noxia  lumina  feci”?  etc.,  Trist.  2.  103,  and  Trist.  3.  5. 
49) ;  it  has  been  conjectured  that  it  was  some  escapade  of 
the  Princess  Julia. 


IX 


INTRODUCTION 


scrupulously  clean  and  soignee  in  dress  and  person, 
know  how  to  walk  and  laugh,  etc.  Culture  to  Ovid 
was  the  mark  of  the  age,  that  age  into  whieh  he 
rejoiced  that  he  was  born  (iii.  121),  and  he  delighted 
in  being  fastidious ;  at  least,  so  he  would  have  his 
readers  believe. 

In  the  Remedies  for  Love,  precepts  are  given  for  the 
falling  out  o  f  love,  if  that  is  required,  mainly  to  men, 
though  it  is  to  be  understood  that  his  precepts  apply 
to  women  too  (1.  49).  Rival  occupations  are  recom¬ 
mended  (there  is  a  long  description  of  country  life, 
1.  169),  and  the  teachings  of  the  Ars  are  reversed, 
e.g.  avoid  theatres,  mark  the  other’s  bad  points,  etc. 


II.  Miscellaneous  Pieces. 

The  Ibis  was  written  during  the  poet’s  exile  at 
Tomi  on  the  Black  Sea ;  its  name  is  borrowed  from 
a  poem  written  by  the  Alexandrian  poet  Callimaehus 
against  Apollonius,  who,  though  a  native  of  Rhodes, 
was  apparently  a  citizen  of  Naucratis,  a  town 
connected  with  the  cult  of  the  Egyptian  god  Theuth 
and  with  the  Ibis,  a  bird  sacred  to  him ;  hence 
Apollonius  is  attacked  under  that  name.  Ovid’s 
poem  is  a^iparently  much  longer  than  that  of 
Callimachus ;  the  real  name  of  the  enemy  whom  he 
attacks  is  unknown,  though  various  conjectures 
have  been  made.  The  greater  part  of  the  work 
consists  in  a  long  series  of  imprecations,  in  the 
course  of  which  the  whole  of  mythology  is  ran¬ 
sacked  for  instances  of  violent  deaths,  which  the 
poet  prays  may  be  his  enemy’s  lot.  (Either  Ovid 


X 


INTRODUCTION 


had  an  extraordinarily  retentive  memory,  or  he 
took  a  compendium  of  mythology  with  him  into 
exile).^ 

The  fragment  on  Sea-fishing  must  also  have  been 
written  at  Tomi,  where  he  could  join  direct 
observation,  or  perhaps  rather  gossip  with  fishermen, 
to  information  found  in  hand-books,  probably  Greek, 
as  there  seems  to  be  a  source  common  to  this  work 
and  to  the  later  works  of  Oppian  and  Plutarch  on 
the  subject.  The  fragment  falls  into  three  parts ; 
(i)  how  fishes  i-esist  being  caught,  1-48,  (ii)  contrast 
between  fishing  and  hunting,  49-81,  (hi)  some  rules 
for  catching  fish,  with  a  list  of  various  fishes  and  their 
haunts,  82-end.  Its  authorship  has  been  doubted, 
but  in  view  of  Pliny’s  explicit  statement  that  Ovid 
wrote  it,  together  with  his  paraphrase  of  the  opening 
lines,  it  seems  a  little  unreasonable  to  do  so. 
Housman  doubts  it  on  the  grounds  of  prosody  {Class. 
Quarterly,  1907). 

The  poem  on  the  Walnut-tree  is  merely  an  expan¬ 
sion  of  a  Greek  epigram,  Anthol.  Palat.  9.  3 ;  it  may 
well  have  been  a  work  of  the  poet’s  youth,  but  most 
critics  think  it  spurious,  on  grounds  of  style.  In  it 
the  tree  laments  its  fate,  which  is  to  have  stones 
cast  at  it  because  of  its  fruit :  its  fertility  is  its 
undoing ;  incidentally  we  learn  something  of  the 
games  played  by  boys  with  nuts. 

The  Consolation  to  Livia  is  almost  as  certainly  un- 
O vidian  as  any  piece  can  well  be,  both  on  prosodical 
grounds  (e.g.  11.  307,  379)  and  for  its  heaviness  of 
treatment  (contrast  the  Lament  for  ^Tibullus,  Am. 

^  The  student  may  be  referred  to  C.  Zipfel,  “Quomodo 
Ovidius  Callimachum  aliosque  fontes  imprimis  defixiones 
secutus  sit  ”  (Leipzig,  1910). 


XI 


INTRODUCTION 


iii.  9).^  It  has  also  been  remarked  that  had  Ovid 
Avritten  it  he  would  surely  have  mentioned  it  in  his 
entreaties  to  Augustus  for  recall  from  exile. 
Drusus,  son  of  Livia,  and  stepson  of  the  Emperor, 
died  prematurely  while  on  a  campaign  in  Germany 
(9  B.c.) ;  his  brother  Tiberius,  the  future  Emperor, 
brought  the  body  back  to  Rome. 

The  Epicedion,  or  Poem  of  Consolation,  became 
a  favourite  literary  type  in  the  Flavian  age,  and 
examples  of  it  are  to  be  found  among  the  Silvae  of 
Statius.^  Such  poems  seem  to  our  taste  insincere 
and  overwrought,  and  certainly  too  long,  but  the 
subject  of  death  and  bereavement  was  one  on  which 
ancient  sentiment  expressed  itself  in  a  different  way 
from  ours  ;  a  good  example  will  be  found  in  the 
exchange  of  letters  between  Cicero  and  his  friend 
Servius  Sulpicius  Rufus  on  the  death  of  Cicero’s 
daughter  Tullia  [ad  Earn.  iv.  5,  6). 

THE  MANUSCRIPTS 

De  Medicanime  Faciei. 

M  :  Florentinus  Marcianus  223,  11th  cent. 

L  :  Lugdunensis,  15th  cent. 

There  are  also  one  or  two  other  late  MSS. 

^  There  are  also  a  number  of  phrases  apparently  imitated 
from  Ovid’s  writings  (e.g.  39  =  Fast.  5.  459,  46  =  Fast.  1.  299, 
m=Trist.  5.  5.  24,  165  =  ffer.  14.  67,  etc.)  :  cf.  Vollmer’s 
edn.  in  Poetae  Latini  Minores,  ii.,  1911. 

*  The  present  poem  seems  to  have  been  imitated  by 
Statius  in  his  Thebaid,  e.g.  Livia’s  own  lament  (1.  121)  is 
paralleled  by  that  of  Ide  (Theb.  iii.  151  flf.),  Tiber  (1.  221)  by 
Ismenus  {Theb.  ix.  404),  though  he  has  elaborated  in  both 
cases ;  cf.  also  a  verbal  borrowing  in  the  Silvae  (5.  5.  60,  1.  7). 

xii 


INTRODUCTION 


A7's  Amatoria. 

O :  Oxoniensis  (Bodl.  Auct.  F.  iv.  32),  9th  cent. 
(Bk.  I  only). 

R;  Parisinus  (  Regius)  7311,  10th  cent. 

Retnedia  Amoris, 

R:  Parisinus  (Regius)  7311,  lOth  cent. 

E;  Etonensis,  11th  cent. 


Ibis. 

There  are  a  number  of  12th  and  13th  cent.  MSS. 
at  Frankfurt  (F),  Berlin  (P),  Tours  (T),  Vienna  (V), 
Holkham  Hall  (H),  Trinity  Coll.,  Cambridge  (G), 
Paris  (X). 


Halieuticon. 

P  :  Parisinus  8071,  9th  or  10th  cent. 

V  :  Vindobonensis  (Sannazarianus)  277,  9th  cent. 


Nux. 

L  :  Laurentianus,  11th  cent. 


Consolatio  ad  Liviam. 

Various  15th  cent.  MSS.  (see  Vollmer,  Poet.  Lat, 
Min.  ii.,  1911). 

jVoie — ‘^MSS.”  in  the  critical  notes  signifies  either 
MSS.  as  opposed  to  editors,  or  other  MSS.  as  opposed 
to  particular  MS.  readings. 

xiii 


INTRODUCTION 


Note  on  Editions,  etc. 

The  “  Ars  ”  was  edited  with  commentarj  by 
P.  Brandt,  Leipzig,  1902,  and  the  Ibis  ”  by 
Robinson  Ellis,  Oxford,  1881.  For  the  numerous 
articles,  dissertations,  etc.,  the  student  is  referred  to 
Schanz,  Romische  Litteraturgeschichte,  vol.  II,  Pt.  i. 


XIV 


ON  PAINTING  THE  FACE 


B 


DE  MEDICAMINE  FACIEI  LIBER 


Discite^  quae  faciem  commendet  cura^  puellae, 
Et  quo  sit  vobis  forma  tuenda  modo. 

Cultus  humum  sterilem  Cerealia  pendere  iussit 
Munera,  mordaces  interiere  rubi. 

Cultus  et  in  pomis  succos  emendat  acerbos. 
Fissaque  adoptivas  accipit  arbor  opes. 

Culta  placent,  auro  sublimia  tecta  linuntur, 
Nigi'a  sub  imposito  marmore  terra  latet : 

Vellera  sae^ie  eadem  Tyrio  medicantur  aeno : 
Sectile  deliciis  India  praebet  ebur. 

Forsitan  antiquae  Tatio  sub  rege  Sabinae 
Maluerint,  quam  se,  rura  paterna  coli : 

Cum  matrona,  premens  altum  rubicunda  sedile. 
Assiduum  duro  pollice  nebat  opus, 

Ipsaque  claudebat  quos  filia  paverat  agnos. 

Ipsa  dabat  virgas  caesaque  ligna  foco. 

At  vestrae  matres  teneras  peperere  puellas; 
Vultis  inaurata  corpora  veste  tegi. 

Vultis  odoratos  positu  variare  capillos. 
Conspicuas  gemmis  vultis  habere  manus  : 

Induitis  collo  lajndes  oriente  petitos. 

Et  quantos  onus  est  aure  tulisse  duos. 

Nec  tamen  indignum,  si  vobis  cura  placendi. 
Cum  comptos  habeant  saecula  nostra  viros. 


5 

10 

15 

20 


14  assiduum  duro  add.  :  assiduo  durum  M. 


ON  PAINTING  THE  FACE 


Learn,  O  women,  what  pains  can  enhance  your 
looks,  and  how  your  beauty  may  be  preserved.  By 
cultivation  was  the  sterile  ground  bidden  render 
bounty  of  wheat,  and  the  devouring  briers  slain. 
Cultivation  improves  the  bitter  juice  of  fruit,  and  the 
cleft  ^  tree  gains  adopted  richness.  What  is  culti¬ 
vated  gives  pleasure.  Lofty  halls  are  plated  with 
gold,  the  black  earth  lies  hid  under  marble  buildings. 
The  same  fleeces  are  many  times  steeped  in  cauldrons 
of  Tyrian  dye  :  India  gives  its  ivory  to  be  carved 
into  choice  figures.  The  Sabine  dames  of  old  under 
king  Tatius  would  perchance  have  wished  to  culti¬ 
vate  their  paternal  acres  rather  than  themselves  : 
when  the  matron,  sitting  rubicund  in  her  high  seat, 
span  assiduously  with  hardened  thumb,  and  herself 
penned  up  the  lambs  her  daughter  had  pastured, 
herself  set  the  twigs  and  cleft  logs  upon  the  hearth. 
But  your  mothers  have  borne  delicate  girls.  You 
wish  your  bodies  to  be  covered  with  gold-embroid¬ 
ered  gowns,  you  wish  to  vary  the  dressing  of  your 
perfumed  locks,  you  wish  to  have  hands  that  shine 
with  gems :  you  adorn  your  necks  with  stones 
sought  from  the  East,  and  so  large  that  the  ear 
finds  two  a  burden  to  bear.  Nor  is  that  a  fault,  if 
you  are  anxious  to  please,  for  men  love  elegance  in 

^  i.e.  for  grafting. 


3 


OVID 


Feminea  vestri  poliuntur  lege  mariti, 

Et  vix  ad  cultus  nupta,  quod  addat,  habet. 

Cui  se  quaeque  parent  quos  et  venentur  amores. 
Refert;  munditia  crimina  nulla  merent. 

Rure  latent  finguntque  comas  ;  licet  arduus  illas 
Celet  Athos,  cultas  altus  habebit  Athos. 

Est  etiam  placuisse  sibi  cuicumque  voluptas ; 
Virginibus  cordi  grataque  forma  sua  est. 

Laudatas  homini  volucris  lunonia  pennas 
Explicat,  et  forma  multa  superbit  avis. 

Sic  potius  nos  uret  amor,  quam  fortibus  herbis. 

Quas  maga  terribili  subsecat  arte  manus. 

Nec  vos  graminibus,  nec  mixto  credite  succo. 

Nec  temptate  nocens  virus  amantis  equae  ; 

Nec  mediae  Marsis  finduntur  cantibus  angues. 

Nec  redit  in  fontes  unda  supina  suos ; 

Et  quamvis  aliquis  Temeseia  moverit  aera, 

Numquam  Luna  suis  excutietur  equis. 

Prima  sit  in  vobis  morum  tutela,  puellae. 

Ingenio  facies  conciliante  placet. 

Certus  amor  morum  est :  formam  populabitur  aetas, 

Et  placitus  rugis  vultus  aratus  erit. 

1’empus  erit,  quo  vos  speculum  vidisse  pigebit. 

Et  veniet  rugis  altera  causa  dolor. 

Sufficit,  et  longum  probitas  perdurat  in  aevum, 
Perque  suos  annos  hinc  bene  pendet  amor. 

27  pro  se  quaeque  ...  et  quos  venerentur  M :  eui  Postgate. 

31  cuicumque  Marius  :  quaecumque  MSS. 

35  nos  uret  Heinsius  :  vos  urget  MSS. 


25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 


4 


ON  PAINTING  THE  FACE 


these  times  of  ours.  In  feminine  wise  ai'e  your 
husbands  made  trim,  and  the  bride  has  scarce  aught 
to  add  to  their  smartness.  It  makes  a  difference 
for  whom  each  prepares  herself,  and  what  lover  may 
be  the  quarry ;  but  by  being  spruce  they  will  never 
be  wrong.  They  bury  themselves  in  the  country, 
and  yet  are  trimming  their  locks ;  though  lofty 
Athos  hid  them,  lofty  Athos  would  find  them  smart. 
There  is  pleasure,  too,  in  self-satisfaction,  whoe’er 
one  may  be  ;  dear  to  the  heart  of  girls  is  their  own 
beauty.  The  bird  of  Juno  spreads  out  the  feathers 
praised  by  man,  and  in  its  own  beauty  many  a  bird 
exults.  Thus  will  love  inflame  us  rather  than  by 
strong  herbs,  which  the  hand  of  the  sorceress 
gathers  as  she  plies  her  terrible  craft.  Trust  not 
to  grasses  nor  to  mixture  of  juices,  nor  attempt 
the  noxious  venom  of  an  infatuated  mare ;  snakes 
are  not  split  in  twain  by  Marsian  spells,^  nor  does 
the  wave  stream  backward  to  its  fount ;  and  though 
one  has  clashed  the  bronze  of  Temese,^  the  Moon 
will  never  be  shaken  from  out  her  car. 

Think  first,  ye  women,  to  look  to  your  behaviour. 
The  face  pleases  when  character  commends.  Love  '' 
of  character  is  lasting  :  beauty  will  be  ravaged  by 
age,  and  the  face  that  charmed  will  be  ploughed  by 
wrinkles.  The  time  will  come,  when  it  will  vex  you 
to  look  at  a  mirror,  and  grief  will  prove  a  second 
cause  of  Avrinkles.  Goodness  endures,  and  lasts  for 
many  a  day,  and  throughout  its  years  love  securely 
rests  thereon. 

^  The  tribe  of  the  Marsians,  who  lived  in  central  Italy, 
were  famous  for  their  witches,  cf.  Ars.  Amai.  2.102. 

®  Temese  was  a  town  famous  for  copper-mines,  on  the 
west  coast  of  Ttalj'  in  Bruttii. 


5 


OVID 


Discite,  cum  teneros  somnus  dimiserit  artus. 
Candida  quo  possint  ora  nitere  modo. 

Hordea,  quae  Libyci  ratibus  misere  coloni. 

Exue  de  palea  tegminibusque  suis. 

Par  ervi  mensura  decem  madefiat  ab  ovis  : 

Sed  cumulent  libras  hordea  nuda  duas. 

Haec  ubi  ventosas  fueifint  siccata  per  auras. 
Lenta  iube  scabra  frangat  asella  mola : 

Et  quae  prima  cadunt  vivaci  coi'nua  cervo. 
Contere  in  haec  (solidi  sexta  face  assis  eat), 
lamque  ubi  pulvereae  fuerint  confusa  farinae, 
Protinus  in  cumeris  omnia  cerne  cavis. 

Adice  nai’cissi  bis  sex  sine  cortice  bulbos, 
Strenua  quos  puro  marmore  dextra  terat. 
Sextantemque  trahat  gummi  cum  semine  Tusco. 

Huc  novies  tanto  plus  tibi  mellis  eat. 
Quaecumque  afficiet  tali  medicamine  vultum. 

Fulgebit  speculo  levior  ipsa  suo. 

Nec  tu  pallentes  dubita  torrere  lupinos. 

Et  simul  inflantes  corpora  frige  fabas ; 
Utraque  sex  habeant  aequo  discrimine  libras. 
Utraque  da  nigris  comminuenda  molis. 

Nec  ceiaissa  tibi,  nec  nitri  spuma  rubentis 
Desit  et  Illyrica  quae  venit  iris  humo. 

Da  validis  iuvenum  pariter  subigenda  laceiTis  : 

Sed  iustum  tritis  uncia  pondus  erit. 

Addita  de  querulo  volucrum  medicamina  nido 
Ore  fugant  maculas  :  alcyonea  vocant. 


55 

60 

65 

70 

75 


6 


62  in  cumeris  edd.  :  innumeris  MSS, 


ON  PAINTING  THE  FACE 


Learn  now  in  what  manner,  when  sleep  has  let  go 
your  tender  limbs,  your  faces  can  shine  bright  and 
fair.  Strip  from  its  covering  of  chaff  the  barley 
which  Libyan  husbandmen  have  sent  in  ships.  Let 
an  equal  measure  of  vetch  be  moistened  in  ten  eggs, 
but  let  the  skinned  barley  weigh  two  pounds.  When 
this  has  dried  in  the  blowing  breezes,  bid  the  slow' 
she-ass  break  it  on  the  rough  millstone  :  grind 
therewith  too  the  first  horns  that  fall  from  a  nimble 
stag  (let  the  sixth  part  of  a  solid  as  ^  be  added). 
And  now  when  it  is  mixed  with  the  dusty  grain,  sift 
it  all  straightway  in  hollow  sieves.  Add  twelve 
narcissus-bulbs  2  without  their  skins,  and  let  a 
strenuous  hand  pound  them  on  pure  marble.  Let 
gum  and  Tuscan  seed  w'eigh  a  sixth  part  of  a  pound, 
and  let  nine  times  as  much  honey  go  to  that. 
Whoever  shall  treat  her  face  with  such  a  prescription 
will  shine  smoother  than  her  own  mirror.  Nor 
hesitate  to  roast  pale  lupin-seeds,  and  therewith  fry 
beans  that  puff  out  the  body ;  with  fair  discern¬ 
ment  let  each  have  six  pounds’  weight,  give  each  to 
the  black  millstones  to  be  pounded  small.  Nor  let 
white  lead  nor  foam  of  red  nitre  be  lacking,  nor  the 
iris  that  comes  from  Illyrian  soil.^  Give  them  all 
alike  to  be  subdued  by  the  strong  arms  of  youths, 
but  when  ground  their  right  weight  will  be  one 
ounce.  Spots  on  the  face  are  banished  by  a  remedy 
taken  from  the  querulous  nest  of  birds ;  halcyon- 

1  i.e.  of  a  pound  ;  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
Roman  pound  weighed  only  12  oz.  The  scruple  (1.  92)  was 
^jth  part  of  an  ounce. 

^  cf.  Pliny,  N.H.  21,  75,  where  it  is  said  to  be  good  for 
removing  blemishes  and  softening  hardnesses. 

®  cf.  Hiny,  N.H.  21,  19,  iris  .  .  .  unguentis  et  medicinae 
nascens.  Laudatissima  in  Illyrico, 


7 


OVID 


Pondere,  si  quaeris,  quo  sim  contentus  in  illis. 

Quod  trahit  in  partes  uncia  secta  duas.  80 

Ut  coeant,  apteque  lini  per  corpora  possint, 

Adice  de  flavis  Attica  mella  favis. 

Quamvis  tura  deos  irataque  numina  placent. 

Non  tamen  accensis  omnia  danda  focis. 

Tus  ubi  miscueris  radenti  tubera  nitro,  85 

Ponderibus  iustis  fac  sit  utrimque  triens. 

Parte  minus  quarta  dereptum  cortice  gummi. 

Et  modicum  e  myrrhis  pinguibus  adde  cubum. 

Haec  ubi  contriris,  per  densa  foramina  cerne  : 

Pulvis  ab  infuso  meile  premendus  erit.  90 

Profuit  et  marathros  bene  olentibus  addere  myrrhis, 
(Quinque  trahant  marathri  scrupula,  myrrha  novem) 
Arentisque  rosae  quantum  manus  una  prehendat, 
Cumque  Ammoniaco  mascula  tura  sale. 

Hordea  quem  faciunt,  illis  infunde  cremorem :  95 

Aequent  expensas  cum  sale  tura  rosas. 

Tempore  sint  parvo  molli  licet  illita  vultu. 

Haerebit  toto  multus  in  ore  color. 

Vidi  quae  gelida  madefacta  papavera  lympha 

Contereret,  teneris  illineretque  genis.  100 

85  tixbera  L  and  edd.  :  corpora  lISS. 

92  trahant  Murcius  :  parent  MSS. 


8 


ON  PAINTING  THE  FACE 


cream  they  call  it.  If  you  ask  with  what  weight 
thereof  I  am  content,  it  is  that  which  an  ounce 
divided  into  two  pai'ts  weighs.  That  they  may  mix 
and  be  properly  smeared  upon  the  body,  add  Attic 
honey  from  its  yellow  combs.  Although  incense 
appeases  the  gods  and  angered  powers,  it  must  not 
all  be  offered  upon  kindled  altars.  When  you  have 
mixed  incense  with  nitre  that  scrapes  off  warts,  see 
that  on  either  side  the  balance  there  is  a  third 
of  a  pound  exact.  Add  a  pound,  less  its  fourth  part, 
of  gum  stripped  of  its  bark,  and  a  moderate  cube  of 
juicy  myrrh.  When  you  have  pounded  these  up, 
sift  them  in  close-set  meshes  :  the  powder  must  be 
settled  by  pouring  honey  on  it.  It  has  been  found 
useful  to  add  fennel  to  the  fragrant  myrrh  (let  the 
fennel  w'eigh  five  scruples,  the  myrrh  nine),  and  of 
dry  rose-leaves  as  much  as  tlie  hand  can  grasp,  and 
frankincense  with  salt  of  Ammon.^  Thereon  pour 
the  juice  that  barley  makes  let  rose-leaves  and 
salt  together  equal  the  incense  in  weight.  Though 
it  be  smeared  but  for  a  short  time  on  your  soft 
countenance,  a  fine  colour  will  remain  on  all  your 
face.  I  have  seen  one  who  pounded  poppies 
moistened  with  cool  water,  and  rubbed  them  on  her 
tender  cheeks. 

1  i.e.  salt  found  in  the  Libyan  desert,  not  “sal  ammoniac,” 
which  is  chloride  of  ammonium. 

^  cf.  Pliny,  N.R.  22,  65,  as'perso  sale  et  melle  candorem 
intibus  et  suavitatem  oris  facit. 


9 


•  ♦ 


V 


I 


.1- 


t 


tr 


4  .  » 

'I  w  ’ 


•t  •  /  .. 


f* 


L  r-  . 

I 


41 


•  .Ki 

- 


lA. 


ART  OF  LOVE 


ARTIS  AMATORIAE 


LIBER  PRIMUS 

SiQUis  in  hoc  artem  populo  non  novit  amandi, 

Hoc  legat  et  lecto  carmine  doctus  amet. 

Arte  citae  veloque  rates  remoque  moventur. 

Arte  leves  currus  ;  arte  regendus  amor. 

Curribus  Automedon  lentisque  erat  aptus  habenis, 
Tiphys  in  Haemonia  puppe  magister  erat : 

Me  Venus  artificem  tenero  pi’aefecit  Amori ; 

Tiphys  et  Automedon  dicar  Amoris  ego. 

Ille  quidem  ferus  est  et  qui  mihi  saepe  repugnet ; 

Sed  puer  est,  aetas  mollis  et  apta  regi. 
Phillyrides  puerum  cithara  perfecit  Achillem, 
Atque  animos  placida  contudit  arte  feros. 

Qui  totiens  socios,  totiens  exterruit  hostes. 
Creditur  annosum  pertimuisse  senem. 

Quas  Hector  sensurus  erat,  poscente  magistro 
Verberibus  iussas  praebuit  ille  manus. 

Aeacidae  Chiron,  ego  sum  praeceptor  Amoris  : 

Saevus  uterque  puer,  natus  uterque  dea. 

Sed  tamen  et  tauri  cervix  oneratur  aratro. 
Frenaque  magnanimi  dente  teruntur  equi ; 

Et  mihi  cedet  Amor,  quamvis  mea  vulneret  arcu 
Pectora,  iactatas  excutiatque  faces. 

Quo  me  fixit  Amor,  quo  me  violentius  ussit. 

Hoc  melior  facti  vulneris  ultor  ero  : 


5 

10 

15 

20 


^  Charioteer  of  Achilles  and  helmsman  of  the  Argo  respec¬ 
tively;  Jason  came  from  Thessaly  (Haemonia). 


ART  OF  LOVE 


BOOK  I 

If  anyone  among  this  people  knows  not  the  art  of 
loving,  let  him  read  my  poem,  and  having  read  be 
skilled  in  love.  By  skill  swift  ships  are  sailed  and 
rowed,  by  skill  nimble  chariots  are  driven :  by 
skill  must  Love  be  guided.  Well  fitted  for  chariots 
and  pliant  reins  was  Automedon,  and  Tiphys  was 
the  helmsman  of  the  Haemonian  ship  :  ^  me  hath 
Venus  set  over  tender  Love  as  master  in  the  art;  I 
shall  be  called  the  Tiphys  and  Automedon  of  Love. 
Wild  indeed  is  he,  and  apt  often  to  fight  against  me  ; 
but  he  is  a  boy,  tender  his  age  and  easily  controlled. 
The  son  of  Philyra  ^  made  the  boy  Achilles  accom¬ 
plished  on  the  lyre,  and  by  his  peaceful  art  subdued 
those  savage  passions.  He  who  terrified  his  friends 
so  often  and  so  often  his  foes,  cowered,  Ave  are  told, 
before  an  aged  man.  Those  hands  that  Hector  was 
to  feel,  he  held  out  to  the  lash  obediently,  when  his 
master  bade.  Chiron  taught  Aeacides,  I  am  Love’s 
teacher :  a  fierce  lad  each,  and  each  born  of  a  god¬ 
dess.  Yet  even  the  bull’s  neck  is  burdened  by  the 
plough,  and  the  high-mettled  steed  champs  the 
bridle  with  his  teeth  ;  and  to  me  Love  shall  yield, 
though  he  wound  my  breast  with  his  bow,  and  Avhirl 
aloft  his  brandished  torch.  The  more  violently 
Love  has  pierced  and  branded  me,  the  better  shall  I 
avenge  the  wound  that  he  has  made  :  I  will  not 


“  Chiron. 


13 


OVID 


Non  ego,  Phoebe,  datas  a  te  mihi  mentiar  artes,  25 
Nec  nos  aeriae  voce  monemur  avis. 

Nec  mihi  sunt  visae  Clio  Cliusque  sorores 
Servanti  pecudes  vallibus,  Ascra,  tuis  ; 

Usus  opus  movet  hoc  :  vati  parete  perito ; 

Vera  canam  :  coeptis,  mater  Amoris,  ades  !  30 

Este  j)rocul,  vittae  tenues,  insigne  pudoris, 

Quaeque  tegis  medios  instita  longa  pedes. 

Nos  venerem  tutam  concessaque  furta  canemus, 

Inque  meo  nullum  carmine  crimen  erit. 

Principio  quod  amare  velis,  reperire  labora,  35 

Qui  nova  nunc  primum  miles  in  arma  venis. 

Proximus  huic  labor  est  placitam  exorare  puellam  : 

Tertius,  ut  longo  tempore  duret  amor. 

Hic  modus,  haec  nostro  signabitur  area  curru  : 

Haec  erit  admissa  meta  premenda  rota.  40 

Dum  licet,  et  loris  passim  potes  ire  solutis. 

Elige  cui  dicas  ^^tu  mihi  sola  places.” 

Haec  tibi  non  tenues  veniet  delapsa  per  auras  : 

Quaerenda  est  oculis  apta  puella  tuis. 

Scit  bene  venator,  cervis  ubi  retia  tendat,  45 

Scit  bene,  qua  frendens  valle  moretur  aper ; 
Aucupibus  noti  frutices  ;  qui  sustinet  hamos. 

Novit,  quae  multo  pisce  natentur  aquae  : 

Tu  quoque,  materiam  longo  qui  quaeris  amori. 

Ante  frequens  quo  sit  disce  puella  loco.  50 

Non  ego  quaerentem  vento  dare  vela  iubebo. 

Nec  tibi,  ut  invenias,  longa  terenda  via  est. 

^  As  they  did  to  Hesiod,  see  Theogony,  11.  22  sqq. 

^  The  fillet,  or  hair-band,  was  worn  only  by  women  of  good 
character;  the  floimce  (“instita”)  made  the  skirt  reach  down 
to  the  feet,  and  was  sewn  on  to  it,  as  in  Hor.  Sat.  1.  2.  28: 

14 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


falsely  claim  that  my  art  is  thy  gift,  O  Phoebus,  nor 
am  I  taught  by  the  voice  of  a  bird  of  the  air, 
neither  did  Clio  and  Clio’s  sisters  appear  to  me 
while  I  kept  flocks  in  thy  vale,  O  Ascra  :  ^  experience 
inspires  this  work  :  give  ear  to  an  experienced  bard  ; 
true  will  be  my  song :  favour  my  enterprise,  O 
mother  of  Love.  Keep  far  away,  ye  slender  fillets, 
emblems  of  modesty,  and  the  long  skirt  that  hides 
the  feet  in  its  folds.^  Of  safe  love-making  do  I  sing, 
and  permitted  secrecy,  and  in  my  verse  shall  be  no 
wrong-doing. 

First,  strive  to  find  an  object  for  your  love,  you 
who  now  for  the  first  time  come  to  fight  in  warfare 
new.  The  next  task  is,  to  win  the  girl  that  takes 
your  fancy  ;  the  third,  to  make  love  long  endure. 
This  is  my  limit,  this  the  field  whose  bound  my 
chariot  shall  mark,  this  the  goal  my  flying  wheel 
shall  graze. 

While  yet  you  are  at  liberty  and  can  go  at  large 
with  loosened  rein,  choose  to  whom  you  will  say, 
“  You  alone  please  me.”  She  wull  not  come  floating 
down  to  you  through  the  tenuous  air,  she  must  be 
sought,  the  girl  whom  your  glance  approves.  Well 
knows  the  hunter  where  to  spread  his  nets  for  the 
stag,  well  knows  he  in  what  glen  the  boar  with 
gnashing  teeth  abides ;  familiar  are  the  copses  to 
fowlers,  and  he  who  holds  the  hook  is  aware  in  what 
waters  many  fish  are  swimming ;  you  too,  who  seek 
the  object  of  a  lasting  passion,  learn  first  what  places 
the  maidens  haunt.  I  will  not  bid  you  in  your 
search  set  sails  before  the  wind,  nor,  that  you  may 
find,  need  a  long  road  be  travelled.  Though  Perseus 

“quarum  subsuta  talos  tegat  instita  veste”  ;  it,  too,  marked 
the  woman  of  good  character. 


1-5 


OVID 


Audromedan  Perseus  nigris  portarit  ab  Indis, 

Raptaque  sit  Phrygio  Graia  puella  viro, 

Tot  tibi  tainque  dabit  formosas  Roma  puellas,  55 

“  Haec  habet  ”  ut  dicas  “  quicquid  in  orbe  fuit.” 
Gargara  quot  segetes,  quot  habet  Methymna  racemos. 
Aequore  quot  pisces,  fronde  teguntur  aves. 

Quot  caelum  stellas,  tot  habet  tua  Roma  puellas  : 

Mater  et  Aeneae  constat  in  urbe  sui.  60 

Seu  caperis  primis  et  adhuc  crescentibus  annis. 

Ante  oculos  veniet  vera  puella  tuos  ; 

Sive  cupis  iuvenem,  iuvenes  tibi  mille  placebunt. 
Cogeris  et  voti  nescius  esse  tui : 

Seu  te  forte  iuvat  sera  et  sapientior  aetas,  65 

Hoc  quoque,  crede  mihi,  plenius  agmen  erit. 

l'u  modo  Pompeia  lentus  spatiare  sub  umbra. 

Cum  sol  Herculei  terga  leonis  adit : 

Aut  ubi  muneribus  nati  sua  munera  mater 

Addidit,  externo  mai’more  dives  opus.  70 

Nec  tibi  vitetur  quae,  priscis  sparsa  tabellis, 

Porticus  auctoris  Livia  nomen  habet  : 

Quaque  parare  necem  miseris  patruelibus  ausae 
Belides  et  stricto  stat  ferus  ense  pater. 

Nec  te  praetereat  Veneri  ploratus  Adonis,  75 

Cultaque  ludaeo  septima  sacra  Syro. 


1  Probably  here  the  Aethiopians,  though  the  scene  is  usually 
placed  ill  Syria.  It  is  implied  that  Andromeda  is  “fusca’’  in 
3.  191.  The  contrast  is  between  the  toils  that  Perseus  had  to 
undergo  and  the  ease  of  finding  maidens  in  Rome. 

“  Gargara  is  on  Mt.  Ida  in  the  Troad,  and  Methjmina  in  the 
island  of  Lesbos. 

®  The  reference  is  to  the  Portico  of  Pompey,  near  to  the 
theatre  called  after  him,  adorned  by  plane  trees  and  fountains. 

*  The  Portico  of  Octavia,  sister  of  Augustus,  dedicated  by 
her  to  the  memory  of  her  son  ISIarcellus  ;  she  also  built  a 

l6 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


brought  Andromeda  from  the  dusky  Indians/  though 
the  Phrygian  lover  carried  off  a  Grecian  girl,  yet 
Rome  will  give  you  so  many  maidens  and  so  fair 
that,  “  Here,”  you  will  say,  “is  all  the  beauty  of  the 
world.”  As  numerous  as  the  crops  upon  Gargara, 
as  the  grape-bunches  of  Methymna,^  as  the  fishes 
that  lurk  within  the  sea,  or  the  birds  among  the 
leaves,  as  many  as  are  the  stars  of  heaven,  so  many 
maidens  doth  thine  own  Rome  contain  :  the  mother 
of  Aeneas  still  dwells  in  the  city  of  her  son.  Are  you 
attracted  by  early  and  still  ripening  years  a  real 
maid  will  come  before  your  eyes.  Would  you  have  a 
full-grown  beauty  ?  a  thousand  such  will  please  you, 
and,  try  as  you  will,  you  know  not  which  to  choose. 
Or  do  you  perchance  prefer  a  later  and  staider  age  ? 
still  more  numerous,  believe  me,  will  be  their  array. 

Only  walk  leisurely  beneath  the  Pompeian  shade,^ 
when  the  sun  draws  nigh  to  Hercules’  shaggy  lion, 
or  where  the  mother  has  added  her  own  gifts  to  her 
son’s,*  a  work  rich  with  marble  coating.  Nor  should 
you  avoid  the  Livian  colonnade  which,  scattered  o’er 
with  ancient  paintings  keeps  its  founder’s  name,®  or 
where  the  daughters  of  Belus  dare  to  plot  death  for 
their  wretched  cousins,  and  their  fierce  sire  stands 
with  drawn  sword.®  Nor  let  Adonis  bewailed  of 
Venus  escape  you,  nor  the  seventh  day  that  the 

library  to  his  honour,  and  Augustus  named  a  theatre  after 
him. 

®  It  was  called  after  Livia,  the  wife  of  Augustus  (of. 
Propertius,  2.  23.  3). 

®  The  Portico  of  the  Danaids,  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  on 
the  Palatine ;  there  were  statues  there  representing  the  fifty 
daughters  of  Danaus,  about  to  slay  the  cousins  whom  they 
were  forced  to  marry  ;  they  were  the  grand-daughters  of 
Belus,  king  of  Egypt. 

*7 

c 


OVID 


Nec  fuge  linigerae  Memphitica  templa  iuvencae  : 

Multas  illa  facit,  quod  fuit  ipsa  lovi. 

Et  fora  conveniunt  (quis  credere  possit  ?)  amori : 

Flammaque  in  arguto  saepe  reperta  foro  :  80 

Subdita  qua  Veneris  facto  de  marmore  templo 
Appias  expressis  aera  pulsat  aquis, 

Illo  saepe  loco  capitur  consultus  Amori, 

Quique  aliis  cavit,  non  cavet  ipse  sibi : 

Illo  saepe  loco  desunt  sua  verba  diserto,  85 

Resque  novae  veniunt,  causaque  agenda  sua  est. 

Hunc  Venus  e  templis,  quae  sunt  confinia,  ridet: 

Qui  modo  patronus,  nunc  cupit  esse  cliens. 

Sed  tu  praecipue  curvis  venare  theatris  : 

Haec  loca  sunt  voto  fertiliora  tuo.  90 

Illic  invenies  quod  ames,  quod  ludere  possis. 

Quodque  semel  tangas,  quodque  tenere  velis. 

Ut  redit  itque  frequens  longum  formica  per  agmen. 
Granifero  solitum  cum  vehit  ore  cibum. 

Aut  ut  apes  saltusque  suos  et  olentia  nactae  95 

Pascua  per  flores  et  thyma  summa  volant. 

Sic  ruit  in  celebres  cultissima  femina  ludos  : 

Copia  iudicium  saepe  morata  meum  est. 

Spectatum  veniunt,  veniunt  spectentur  ut  ipsae : 

Ille  locus  casti  damna  pudoris  habet.  100 

Primus  sollicitos  fecisti,  Romule,  ludos. 

Cum  iuvit  viduos  rapta  Sabina  viros. 


^  The  worship  of  Adonis  was  connected  with  the  temple  of 
Venus,  and  his  festival  was  very  popular  with  the  courtesans 
of  Rome;  “Syrian”  covers  most  of  the  near  East;  there  were 
many  Jews  in  Rome  since  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Pompey 
in  63  B.O. 

l8 


ART  OF  LOVE;  I 


Syrian  Jew  holds  sacred  J  Avoid  not  the  Memphian 
shrine  of  the  linen-clothed  heifer  :  many  a  maid  does 
she  make  what  she  was  herself  to  Jove.^  Even  the 
law-courts  (who  could  believe  it  ?)  are  suitable  to 
love,  often  has  its  flame  been  found  in  the  shrill- 
tongued  court :  where  set  beneath  the  marble  shrine 
of  V enus,  the  Appian  nymph  strikes  the  air  with  her 
upspringing  watei's,®  there  often  is  the  lawyer  cheated 
by  Love,  and  he  who  was  careful  for  others  is  not 
careful  for  himself :  often  there  does  the  glib  speaker 
fail  for  words :  a  new  case  comes  on  and  his  own 
cause  must  be  pleaded.  Venus  laughs  at  him  from 
her  neighbouring  shrine  ;  he  who  was  of  late  an 
advocate  would  fain  be  a  client  now. 

But  specially  do  your  hunting  in  the  round  theatres  : 
more  bountifully  do  these  repay  your  vows.  There 
will  you  find  an  object  for  passion  or  for  dalliance, 
something  to  taste  but  once,  or  to  keep,  if  so  you 
wish.  As  crowded  ants  pass  and  repass  in  a  long 
train,  bearing  in  grain-burdened  mouth  their  wonted 
food,  or  as  bees,  having  gained  their  dells  and  fragrant 
pastures,  flit  o’er  the  blossoms  and  hover  o’er  the 
thyme  :  so  hasten  the  smartest  women  to  the  crowded 
games  ;  many  a  time  have  their  numbers  made  my 
judgment  falter.  They  come  to  see,  they  come  that 
they  may  be  seen :  to  chastity  that  place  is  fatal. 
Thou  first,  Romulus,  didst  disturb  the  games,  when 
the  rape  of  Sabine  women  consoled  the  widowed  men. 

^  Isis  is  often  identified  with  lo  in  Latin  poetry.  The 
temple  of  the  former  stood  in  the  Campus  Martius. 

^  There  was  a  temple  of  Venus  Genetrix  in  the  Forum 
Julium,  and  near  it  the  fountain  of  the  Aqua  Appia  (so 
called  because  the  water  was  brought  by  the  aqueduct  built 
by  the  censor,  Appius  Claudius). 


19 


OVID 


Tunc  neque  marmoreo  pendebant  vela  theatro, 

Nec  fuerant  liquido  pulpita  rubra  croco  ; 

Illic  quas  tulerant  nemoi’osa  Palatia,  frondes  105 

Simpliciter  positae,  scaena  sine  arte  fuit  ; 

In  gradibus  sedit  populus  de  caespite  factis. 

Qualibet  hirsutas  fronde  tegente  comas. 

Respiciunt,  oculisque  notant  sibi  quisque  puellam 

Quam  velit,  et  tacito  pectore  multa  movent.  110 

Dumque,  rudem  praebente  modum  tibicine  Tusco, 
Ludius  aequatam  ter  pede  pulsat  humum. 

In  medio  plausu  (plausus  tunc  arte  carebant) 

Rex  populo  praedae  signa  petita  dedit. 

Protinus  exiliunt,  animum  clamore  fatentes,  115 

Virginibus  cupidas  iuiciuntque  manus. 

Ut  fugiunt  aquilas,  timidissima  turba,  columbae, 

Utque  fugit  visos  agna  novella  lupos  ; 

Sic  illae  timuere  viros  sine  more  ruentes  ; 

Constitit  in  nulla  qui  fuit  ante  color.  120 

Nam  timor  unus  erat,  facies  non  una  timoris ; 

Pars  laniat  crines,  pars  sine  mente  sedet ; 

Altera  maesta  silet,  frustra  vocat  altera  matrem  : 

Haec  queritur,  stupet  haec  ;  haec  manet,  illa  fugit ; 
Ducuntur  raptae,  genialis  praeda,  puellae,  125 

Et  potuit  multas  ipse  decere  timor. 

Siqua  repugnarat  nimium  comitemque  negabat. 
Sublatam  cupido  vir  tulit  ipse  sinu. 

Atque  ita  “  quid  teneros  lacrimis  corrumpis  ocellos  ? 

Quod  matri  pater  est,  hoc  tibi  ”  dixit  “  ero.”  130 
Romule,  militibus  scisti  dare  commoda  solus  ! 

Haec  mihi  si  dederis  commoda,  miles  ero. 

Scilicet  ex  illo  sollemnia  more  theatra 
Nunc  quoque  formosis  insidiosa  manent. 

114  petita  Bentley,  Madvig:  petenda  MSS. 

20 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


No  awnings  then  hung  o’er  a  marble  theatre^  nor  was 
the  platform  ruddy  with  crocus-spray ;  there,  artlessly 
arranged,  were  garlands  which  the  leafy  Palatine  had 
borne  ;  the  stage  was  unadorned ;  the  people  sat  on 
steps  of  turf,  any  chance  leaves  covering  their  un¬ 
kempt  hair.  They  look  about  them,  and  each  notes 
with  his  glance  the  woman  he  desires,  and  they  brood 
much  in  their  secret  hearts.  And  while  to  the  Tuscan 
flute-player’s  rude  strains  the  dancer  struck  thrice 
with  his  foot  the  levelled  floor,  in  the  midst  of  the 
applause  (the  applause  then  was  rough  and  rude)  the 
king  gave  to  the  people  the  expected  sign  of  rape. 
Straightway  they  leap  forth,  by  their  shouts  betraying 
their  eagerness,  and  lay  lustful  hand  upon  the 
maidens.  As  doves,  most  timorous  of  birds,  flee 
from  the  eagles,  and  the  weanling  lamb  when  it  spies 
the  w’olf,  so  fled  they  helter-skelter  in  panic  from 
the  men ;  in  none  remained  her  former  colour.  For 
their  fear  was  one,  but  not  one  was  the  appearance  of 
their  fear :  some  tear  their  hair,  some  sit  crazed ; 
one  is  silent  in  dismay,  one  calls  in  vain  upon  her 
mother  ;  this  one  bewails,  that  one  is  struck  dumb ; 
this  one  remains,  that  one  flees.  The  captured 
women  are  led  off,  spoil  for  the  marriage-couch,  and 
to  many  their  very  fear  had  power  to  lend  grace.  If 
any  struggled  overmuch  and  resisted  her  mate,  up¬ 
borne  on  his  eager  breast  he  carried  her  off  himself, 
saying  :  Why  do  you  spoil  those  tender  eyes  with 
tears  ?  What  your  sire  was  to  your  mother  that  will 
I  be  to  you.”  Ah,  Romulus,  thou  only  didst  know  how 
to  bestow  bounty  on  thy  warriors  ;  so  thou  but  bestow 
such  bounty  upon  me,  I  will  be  a  warrior.  And, 
mark  you,  in  accord  with  that  tradition  our  theatres 
now  too  are  fraught  with  danger  to  the  fair. 


21 


OVID 


Nec  te  nobilium  fugiat  certamen  equorum  ; 
Multa  capax  populi  commoda  Circus  habet. 

Nil  opus  est  digitis,  per  quos  arcana  loquaris, 
Nec  tibi  per  nutus  accipienda  nota  est : 

Proximus  a  domina,  nullo  prohibente,  sedeto. 
Iunge  tuum  lateri  qua  potes  usque  latus ; 

Et  bene,  quod  cogit,  si  nolit,  linea  iungi, 

Quod  tibi  tangenda  est  lege  puella  loci. 

Hic  tibi  quaeratur  socii  sermonis  origo. 

Et  moveant  primos  publica  verba  sonos. 

Cuius  equi  veniant,  facito,  studiose,  requiras  : 
Nec  mora,  quisquis  erit,  cui  favet  illa,  fave. 

At  cum  pompa  frequens  certantibus  ibit  ephebis. 
Tu  Veneri  dominae  plaude  favente  manu  ; 

Utque  fit,  in  gremium  pulvis  si  forte  puellae 
Deciderit,  digitis  excutiendus  erit  : 

Et  si  nullus  erit  pulvis,  tamen  excute  nullum  : 
Quaelibet  officio  causa  sit  apta  tuo. 

Pallia  si  terra  nimium  demissa  iacebunt. 

Collige,  et  inmunda  sedulus  effer  humo  ; 

Protinus,  officii  pretium,  patiente  puella 
Contingent  oculis  crura  videnda  tuis. 

Respice  praeterea,  post  vos  quicumque  sedebit, 
Ne  premat  opposito  mollia  terga  genu. 

Parva  leves  capiunt  animos  ;  fuit  utile  multis 
Pulvinum  facili  composuisse  manu. 

Profuit  et  tenui  ventos  movisse  tabella. 

Et  cava  sub  tenerum  scamna  dedisse  pedem. 

Hos  aditus  Circusque  novo  praebebit  amori, 
Sparsaque  sollicito  tristis  harena  foro. 


135 

140 

145 

150 

155 

160 


141  nolit  0  :  nolis  E. 

147  certantibus  .  .  .  ephebis  E :  caelestibus  .  .  .  eburnis  0. 
161  ventos  .  .  .  tabella  MSS. :  vento  .  .  .  tabellam  EO. 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


Nor  let  the  contest  of  noble  steeds  escape  you ; 
the  spacious  Circus  holds  many  opportunities. 
No  need  is  there  of  fingers  for  secret  speech,  nor 
need  you  receive  a  signal  by  means  of  nods.  Sit 
next  to  your  lady,  none  will  prevent  you  ;  sit  side  by 
side  as  close  as  you  can  ;  and  that  is  easy,  for  the  rows 
compel  closeness,  if  she  be  uAwilling,  and  by  the 
rule  of  the  plac§  you  must  touch  your  comrade. 
Here  seek  an  opening  for  friendly  talk,  and  begin 
with  words  that  all  may  hear.  Mind  you  are  zealous 
in  asking  whose  horses  are  entering,  and  quick  ! 
whomsoever  she  favours  be  sure  to  favour  too.  But 
when  the  long  procession  of  competing  youtlis  passes 
by  applaud  Queen  Venus  with  favouring  hand.^ 
And  if  perchance,  as  will  happen,  a  speck  of  dust 
falls  on  your  lady’s  lap,  flick  it  off  with  your  fingers  ; 
and  if  none  fall,  then  flick  off — none  ;  let  any  pretext 
serve  your  turn.  If  her  cloak  hangs  low  and  trails 
upon  the  ground,  gather  it  up  and  lift  it  carefully  from 
the  defiling  earth  ;  straightway,  a  reward  for  your 
service,  with  the  girl’s  permission  your  eyes  will  catch 
a  glimpse  of  her  ankles.  Then  again  look  round  to  see 
that  whoever  is  sitting  behind  you  is  not  pressing  his 
knee  against  her  tender  back.  Frivolous  minds  are  won 
by  trifles  :  many  have  found  useful  the  deft  arranging 
of  a  cushion.  It  has  helped  too  to  stir  the  air  with 
a  light  fan,  or  to  set  a  stool  beneath  a  dainty  foot. 

Such  openings  will  the  Circus  afford  to  a  new  court¬ 
ship,  and  the  melancholy  sand  scattered  on  the  busy 

^  This  procession  is  described  in  Amores,  3.  2.  43  ff.  It 
started  from  the  Capitol,  and  came  by  the  Forum  and  the 
Forum  Boarium  to  the  Circus,  of  which  it  traversed  the  whole 
length.  Ivory  statues  of  gods  were  carried,  and  would  be 
applauded  by  those  most  sympathetic  to  them;  Mars  by 
soldiers,  Venus  by  lovers,  etc. 


23 


OVID 


Illa  saepe  puer  Veneris  pugnavit  harena,  165 

Et  qui  spectavit  vulnera,  vulnus  habet. 

Dum  loquitur,  tangitque  manum,  poscitque  libellum. 

Et  quaerit  posito  pignore,  vincat  uter. 

Saucius  ingemuit,  telumque  volatile  sensit. 

Et  pars  spectati  muneris  ipse  fuit.  170 

Quid,  modo  cum  belli  navalis  imagine  Caesar 
Persidas  induxit  Cecropiasque  rates  ? 

Nempe  ab  utroque  mari  iuvenes,  ab  utroque  puellae 
Venere,  atque  ingens  orbis  in  Urbe  fuit. 

Quis  non  invenit,  turba  quod  amaret  in  illa  ?  175 

Eheu,  quam  multos  advena  torsit  amor ! 

Ecce,  parat  Caesar  domito  quod  defuit  orbi. 

Addere  :  nunc,  oriens  ultime,  noster  eris. 

Parthe,  dabis  poenas  :  Crassi  gaudete  sepulti. 

Signaque  barbaricas  non  bene  passa  manus.  180 

Ultor  adest,  primisque  ducem  profitetur  in  annis. 
Bellaque  non  puero  tractat  agenda  puer. 

Parcite  natales  timidi  numerare  deorum  : 

Caesaribus  virtus  contigit  ante  diem. 

Ingenium  caeleste  suis  velocius  annis  185 

Surgit,  et  ignavae  fert  male  damna  morae. 

Parvus  erat,  manibusque  duos  Tirynthius  angues 
Pressit,  et  in  cunis  iam  love  dignus  erat. 

181  annis  i20:  armis 

^  Gladiatorial  shows  were  sometimes  given  there. 

2  When  a  gladiator  had  received  a  wound,  the  people  would 
cry  ‘  ‘  habet !  ” 

®  Augustus  staged  the  battle  of  Salamis  on  a  lake  excavated 
for  that  purpose  at  the  foot  of  the  Janiculum,  in  2  b.c. 

*  A  rather  abrupt  digression,  suggested  by  the  idea  of  a 
triumph  as  a  suitable  occasion  for  courtship  ;  he  only  returns 
to  this  theme  in  1.  219 ;  hence,  while  the  vocative  in  1.  213 


24 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


Forum.i  Often  has  Venus’  Boy  fought  upon  that  sand, 
and  he  who  watched  the  wounds  has  himself  been 
wounded.^  While  he  is  speaking  and  touching  her 
hand  and  asking  for  the  book,  and  inquiring  which 
is  winning  as  he  lays  his  stake,  he  feels  the  winged 
barb  and  groans  with  the  wound,  and  is  himself  part 
of  the  show  which  he  is  watching. 

What  when  Caesar  of  late  brought  on  Pei’sian  and 
Cecropian  vessels  under  the  fashion  of  a  naval  fight 
Why,  youths  and  maidens  came  from  either  sea  :  the 
mighty  world  was  in  our  city.  Who  found  not  in 
that  crowd  some  object  for  his  passion  .f*  alas!  how 
many  did  a  foreign  love  o’erthrow  1 

Lo  1  ^  Caesar  is  preparing  to  add  what  was  lacking 
to  the  conquered  world :  now,  farthest  East,  shalt 
thou  be  ours.  Parthian,  thou  shalt  pay  penalty ; 
rejoice,  ye  buried  Crassi,®and  ye  standards  that  shame¬ 
fully  endured  barbarian  violence.  Your  avenger  is  at 
hand,  and,  though  his  years  be  few,  proclaims  his  cap¬ 
taincy,  and,  though  a  boy,  handles  wars  that  no  boy 
should  handle.  Cease,  timid  ones,  to  count  the  birth¬ 
days  of  the  gods ;  valour  falls  eai’ly  to  the  lot  of  Caesars. 
Heavenly  power  grows  more  swiftly  than  its  years, 
and  ill  brooks  the  penalties  of  slow  delay.  Small 
was  the  Tirynthian  when  in  his  hands  he  crushed 
two  snakes,  and  already  in  his  cradle  he  was  worthy 

refers  to  Gains  Caesar,  in  1.  221  he  addresses  the  young  lover 
again. 

®  The  battle  of  Carrhae  is  referred  to  (53  b.c.),  at  which 
Crassus  and  his  son  were  slain,  and  the  Roman  standards 
captured  by  the  Parthians. 

®  Gains  Caesar  was  the  young  son  of  Agrippa  and  Julia, 
daughter  of  Augustus  ;  he  was  just  being  sent  out  to  lead  a 
campaign  against  Phraates,  king  of  the  Parthians ;  in  this 
war  he  died  of  a  wound,  and  so  failed  to  fulfil  the  prophecy 
of  1.  194. 


25 


OVID 


Nunc  quoque  qui  puer  es,  quantus  tum,  Bacche,  fuisti, 
Cum  timuit  thyrsos  India  victa  tuos  ?  190 

Auspiciis  animisque  patris,  puer,  arma  movebis. 

Et  vinces  animis  auspiciisque  patris  : 

Tale  rudimentum  tanto  sub  nomine  debes. 

Nunc  iuvenum  princeps,  deinde  future  senum  ; 

Cum  tibi  sint  fratres,  fratres  ulciscere  laesos  :  195 

Cumque  pater  tibi  sit,  iura  tuere  patris. 

Induit  arma  tibi  genitor  patriaeque  tuusque  : 

Hostis  ab  invito  regna  parente  rapit ; 

Tu  pia  tela  feres,  sceleratas  ille  sagittas  : 

Stabit  pro  signis  iusque  piumque  tuis.  200 

Vincuntur  causa  Parthi;  vincantur  et  armis  ; 

Eoas  Latio  dux  meus  addat  opes. 

Marsque  pater  Caesarque  pater,  date  numen  eunti  : 

Nam  deus  e  vobis  alter  es,  alter  eris. 

Auguror,  en,  vinces  ;  votivaque  carmina  reddam,  205 
Et  magno  nobis  ore  sonandus  eris. 

Comsistes,  aciemque  meis  hortabere  verbis  ; 

O  desint  animis  ne  mea  verba  tuis  ! 

Tergaque  Parthorum  Romanaque  pectora  dicam. 

Telaque,  ab  averso  quae  iacit  hostis  equo.  210 

Qui  fugis  ut  vincas,  quid  victo,  Parthe,  relinquis  ? 

Parthe,  malum  iam  nunc  Mars  tuus  omen  habet. 

Ergo  erit  illa  dies,  qua  tu,  pulcherrime  rerum. 

Quattuor  in  niveis  aureus  ibis  equis. 

191,  192  animis  MSS :  annis  EO. 


^  i.  e.  being  a  Caesar  his  first  essay  in  warfare  should  bring 
victory. 

^  A  title  which  conferred  the  right  to  ride  at  the  head  of  the 
annual  procession  of  the  Equites. 

*  Actually  he  only  had  one,  Lucius  Caesar;  by  the  “sire” 
Augustus,  who  had  adopted  them,  is  perhaps  meant. 

26 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


of  Jove.  And  thou  who  even  now  art  a  youth,  how 
big  then  wert  thou,  O  Bacchus,  when  conquered 
India  feared  thy  wands?  With  the  auspices  and 
courage  of  thy  sire  shalt  thou,  O  youth,  make  war, 
and  with  the  auspices  and  courage  of  thy  sire  shalt 
thou  conquer  :  such,  bearing  so  great  a  name,  should 
be  thy  earliest  exploit,^  prince  now  of  the  youth,^  but 
one  day  of  the  elders;  since  thou  hast  brothers,^ 
avenge  thy  brothers’  wrongs,  and  since  thou  hast  a 
sire,  guard  the  rights  of  thy  sire.  Thy  father  and  the 
father  of  thy  country  hath  girded  thee  with  arms  : 
an  enemy  snatches  a  realm  from  thy  unwilling  sire  ; 
rightful  weapons  shalt  thou  bear,  dastardly  arrows, 
he ;  right  and  duty  shall  stand  to  defend  thy  cause. 
The  Parthians  ai*e  defeated  in  their  cause :  let  them 
be  defeated  in  battle  also ;  let  my  prince  add  to 
Latium  the  riches  of  the  East.  Father  Mars  and 
father  Caesar,  vouchsafe  him  your  presence  as  he 
goes  ;  for  one  of  you  is,  and  one  will  be,  a  god.  Lo  ! 
I  prophesy:  victory  shall  be  thine,  and  I  shall  duly 
pay  my  votive  song,  and  owe  thee  loud  utterance  of 
praise.  Thou  wilt  stand  and  in  my  own  woi’ds  exhort 
thy  warriors ;  O  let  not  my  words  fall  short  of  thy 
valour.  I  shall  tell  of  Parthian  backs  and  Roman 
breasts,  and  of  the  weapons  which  the  foe  shoots 
from  his  retreating  steed.  Thou  who  dost  flee  to 
conquer,  what,  O  Parthian,  dost  thou  leave  the 
conquered  ?  ^  Already,  O  Parthian,  hath  thy  war¬ 
fare  an  evil  omen.  Therefore  that  day  shall  dawn 
whereon  thou,  fairest  of  beings,  shalt  ride  all  golden 
behind  four  snow-white  steeds.  Chieftains  shall  go 

*  i.e.  if  flight  is  your  only  means  of  gaining  victory,  what 
is  there  left  to  you  to  do  when  you  are  defeated  ? 


27 


OVID 


Ibunt  ante  duces  onerati  colla  catenis,  216 

Ne  possint  tuti,  qua  prius,  esse  fuga. 

Sjiectabunt  laeti  iuvenes  mixtaeque  puellae, 
Diffundetque  animos  omnibus  ista  dies. 

Atque  aliqua  ex  illis  cum  regum  nomina  quaeret. 

Quae  loca,  qui  montes,  quaeve  ferantur  aquae,  220 
Omnia  responde,  nec  tantum  siqua  rogabit ; 

Et  quae  nescieris,  ut  bene  nota  refer. 

Hic  est  Euphrates,  praecinctus  arundine  frontem  : 

Cui  coma  dependet  caerula,  Tigris  erit. 

Hos  facito  Armenios  ;  haec  est  Danaeia  Persis  :  225 

Urbs  in  Achaemeniis  vallibus  ista  fuit. 

Ille  vel  ille,  duces  ;  et  erunt  quae  nomina  dicas. 

Si  poteris,  vere,  si  minus,  apta  tamen. 

Dant  etiam  positis  aditum  convivia  mensis  : 

Est  aliquid  praeter  vina,  quod  inde  petas.  230 

Saepe  illic  positi  teneris  adducta  lacertis 
Pui’pureus  Bacchi  cornua  pressit  Amor  ; 

Vinaque  cum  bibulas  sparsere  Cupidinis  alas, 

Pei’manet  et  capto  stat  gravis  ille  loco. 

Ille  quidem  pennas  velociter  excutit  udas  :  235 

Sed  tamen  et  spargi  pectus  amore  nocet. 

Vina  parant  animos,  faciuntque  caloribus  aptos  : 

Cura  fugit  multo  diluiturque  mero. 

Tunc  veniunt  risus,  tum  pauper  cornua  sumit. 

Tum  dolor  et  curae  rugaque  frontis  abit.  240 

Tunc  aperit  mentes  aevo  rarissima  nostro 
Simplicitas,  artes  excutiente  deo. 

Illic  saepe  animos  iuvenum  rapuere  puellae. 

Et  Venus  in  vinis  ignis  in  igne  fuit. 

225  facito  Heinsiiis ;  facit  0 :  facis  B. 

1  Through  Perses,  son  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda.  Ovid 
seems  to  have  some  picture  in  mind  :  Cupid  is  coaxing  Bacchus, 
but  the  wine  makes  his  wings  w'et,  and  he  is  forced  to  stop. 

28 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


before  thee,  their  necks  laden  with  chains,  lest  they 
be  able  to  save  themselves  by  the  flight  they  used 
before.  Joyous  youths  shall  look  on  and  maidens 
with  them,  and  that  day  shall  make  all  hearts  o’er- 
flow.  And  when  some  girl  among  them  asks  the 
names  of  the  monarchs,  or  what  places,  what 
mountains,  what  rivers  are  borne  along,  do  you 
answer  everything,  nor  only  if  she  ask  you  ;  ay,  even 
if  you  know  not,  tell  her  as  if  you  knew  it  well. 
That  is  Euphrates,  his  forehead  fringed  with  reeds  ;  he 
with  the  dark  blue  locks  down-hanging  will  be  Tigris. 
These,  say,  are  Armenians,  here  is  Persia,  sprung 
from  Danae ;  ^  that  was  a  city  in  the  Achaemenian 
valleys.  That  one,  or  that,  are  chieftains ;  and  you 
will  have  names  to  give  them,  correct,  if  you  can, 
but  if  not,  names  that  yet  are  fitting. 

Banquets  too  give  openings,  when  the  tables  are 
set ;  somewhat  beside  wine  may  you  find  there. 
Often  has  bright-hued  Love  with  soft  arms  drawn  to 
him  and  embraced  the  horns  of  Bacchus  as  he  there 
reclined :  and  when  wine  has  sprinkled  Cupid’s 
thirsty  wings,  he  abides  and  stands  o’erburdened, 
where  he  has  taken  his  place.  He  indeed  quickly 
shakes  out  his  dripping  plumes,  yet  does  it  hurt  even 
to  be  sprinkled  on  the  breast  with  love.  Wine  gives 
courage  and  makes  men  apt  for  passion  ;  care  flees 
and  is  drowned  in  much  wine.  Then  laughter 
comes,  then  even  the  poor  find  plenty ,2  then  sorrow 
and  care  and  the  wrinkles  of  the  brow  depart.  Then 
simplicity,  most  rare  in  our  age,  lays  bare  the  mind, 
when  the  god  dispels  all  craftiness.  At  such  time 
often  have  women  bewitched  the  minds  of  men, 
and  Venus  in  the  wine  has  been  fire  in  fire.  Trust 

*  A  borrowing  from  Horace,  Odes,  3.  21.  18. 

29 


OVID 


Hic  tu  fallaci  nimium  ne  crede  lucernae  : 
ludicio  formae  noxque  merumque  nocent. 

Luce  deas  caeloque  Paris  spectavit  aperto^ 

Cum  dixit  Veneri  ^‘vincis  utramque,  Venus.” 

Nocte  latent  mendae,  vitioque  ignoscitur  omni. 
Horaque  formosam  quamlibet  illa  facit. 

Consule  de  gemmis,  de  tincta  murice  lana, 

Consule  de  facie  corporibusque  diem. 

Quid  tibi  femineos  coetus  venatibus  aptos 
Enumerem  ?  numero  cedet  harena  meo. 

Quid  referam  Baias,  praetextaque  litora  Baiis, 

Et  quae  de  calido  sulpure  fumat,  aquam  ? 

Hinc  aliquis  vulnus  referens  in  pectore  dixit 
“  Non  haec,  ut  fama  est,  unda  salubi-is  erat.” 

Ecce  suburbanae  templum  nemorale  Dianae 
Partaque  per  gladios  regna  nocente  manu : 

Illa  quod  est  virgo,  quod  tela  Cupidinis  odit. 

Multa  dedit  jjojjulo  vulnera,  multa  dabit. 

Hactenus,  unde  legas  quod  ames,  ubi  retia  ponas, 
Praecipit  imparibus  vecta  Thalia  rotis. 

Nunc  tibi,  quae  placuit,  quas  sit  capienda  per  artes. 
Dicere  praecipuae  molior  artis  opus. 

Quisquis  ubique,  viri,  dociles  advertite  mentes. 
Pollicitisque  favens,  vulgus,  adeste  meis. 

Prima  tuae  menti  veniat  fiducia,  cunctas 
Posse  capi ;  capies,  tu  modo  tende  plagas. 

Vere  prius  volucres  taceant,  aestate  cicadae, 
Maenalius  lepori  det  sua  terga  canis, 

255  Baiis  0 :  velis  R :  Baulis  Eeinsius. 

269  cunctas  MSS. :  formae  R  :  ferine  Housman. 

^  The  shrine  of  Diana  Nemorensis  by  the  lake  of  Nemi, 

Rome,  where  the  priest  was  a  runaway  slave  who  had 

3° 


245 


250 


255 


260 


265 


270 


near 

slain 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


not  at  such  a  time  o’ermuch  to  the  treacherous 
lamp  ;  darkness  and  drink  impair  your  judgment  of 
beauty.  It  was  in  heaven’s  light  unveiled  that 
Paris  beheld  the  goddesses,  when  he  said  to  Venus, 
“Venus,  thou  dost*  surpass  the  other  two.”  By 
night  are  blemishes  hid,  and  every  fault  is  forgiven  : 
that  hour  makes  any  woman  fair.  Consult  the 
daylight  for  jewels,  for  wool  dyed  in  purple,  consult 
it  too  for  the  face  and  bodily  form. 

Why  should  I  recount  to  you  all  the  gatherings 
of  women,  fit  occasions  for  hunting  ?  the  sand  would 
yield  to  my  counting.  Why  tell  of  Baiae  and  Baiae’s 
fringe  of  shore,  and  the  water  that  smokes  with  hot 
sulphur  ?  Someone  came  hence  with  a  wound  in  his 
heart,  and  said  :  “  Those  waters  were  not,  as  fame 
reports  them,  healthy.”  Lo !  hard  by  the  city  is  Dian’s 
woodland  shrine,^  and  the  realm  won  by  the  sword 
and  guilty  hand  :  because  she  is  a  maid  and  hates  the 
darts  of  Cupid,  she  has  given  and  will  give  to  our 
people  many  a  wound. 

So  far  Thalia,  borne  upon  unequal  wheels,^  teaches 
you  where  to  select  an  object  for  your  love,  and  where 
to  spread  your  nets.  Now  do  I  essay  a  task  of  pre¬ 
eminent  skill,  to  tell  you  by  what  arts  to  catch  her 
whom  you  have  chosen.  Ye  men,  whoever,  wherever 
ye  may  be,  attend  with  docile  minds ;  and,  common 
folk,  lend  favouring  presence  to  my  enterprise. 

First  let  assurance  come  to  your  minds,  that  all  i 
women  can  be  caught ;  spread  but  your  nets  and 
you  will  catch  them.  Sooner  would  birds  be  silent 
in  spring,  or  grasshoppers  in  summer,  or  the  hound 
of  Maenalus  flee  before  the  hare  than  a  woman 

his  predecessor.  This  grove,  too,  was  much  resorted  to  by 
lovers. 

2  i.e.  of  the  elegiac  couplet. 


31 


OVID 


Femina  quam  iuveni  blande  temptata  repugnet  ; 

Haec  quoque,  quam  poteris  credere  nolle,  volet. 
Utque  viro  furtiva  venus,  sic  grata  puellae  :  275 

Vir  male  dissimulat :  tectius  illa  cupit. 

Conveniat  maribus,  nequam  no?  ante  rogemus. 

Femina  iam  partes  victa  rogantis  agat. 

Mollibus  in  pratis  admugit  femina  tauro  : 

Femina  cornipedi  semper  adhinnit  equo.  280 

Parcior  in  nobis  nec  tam  furiosa  libido  : 

Legitimum  finem  flamma  virilis  habet. 

Byblida  quid  referam,  vetito  quae  fratris  amore 
Arsit,  et  est  laqueo  fortiter  ulta  nefas  ? 

Myrrha  patrem,  sed  non  qua  filia  debet,  amavit,  285 
Et  nunc  obducto  cortice  pressa  latet: 

Illius  lacrimis,  quas  arbore  fundit  odora. 

Unguimur,  et  dominae  nomina  gutta  tenet. 

Forte  sub  umbrosis  nemorosae  vallibus  Idae 

Candidus,  armenti  gloria,  taurus  erat,  290 

Signatus  tenui  media  inter  cornua  nigro  : 

Una  fuit  labes,  cetera  lactis  erant. 

Illum  Gnosiadesque  Cydoneaeque  iuvencae 
Optarunt  tergo  sustinuisse  suo. 

Pasiphae  fieri  gaudebat  adultera  tauri ;  295 

Invida  formosas  oderat  illa  boves. 

Nota  cano  :  non  hoc,  centum  quae  sustinet  urbes, 
Quamvis  sit  mendax,  Creta  negare  potest. 

Ipsa  novas  frondes  et  prata  tenerrima  tauro 

Fertur  inadsueta  subsecuisse  manu.  300 

It  comes  armentis,  nec  ituram  cura  moratur 
Coniugis,  et  Minos  a  bove  victus  erat. 


1  Caunus,  for  whom  see  Metamorf  hoses,  9.  453. 

®  Crete  had  a  bad  reputation  in  the  ancient  world  for  lying  ; 


32 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


persuasively  wooed  resist  a  lover :  nay,  even  she, 
whom  you  will  think  cruel,  will  be  kind.  And  as 
stolen  love  is  pleasant  to  a  man,  so  is  it  also  to  a 
woman ;  the  man  dissembles  badly :  she  conceals 
desire  better.  Did  it  suit  us  males  not  to  ask  any 
woman  first,  the  woman,  already  won,  would  play  the 
asker.  In  soft  meads  the  heifer  lows  to  the  bull,  the 
mare  always  whinnies  to  the  horn-footed  steed.  In 
us  desire  is  stronger,  yet  not  so  frantic  ;  the  manly 
flame  knows  a  lawful  bound.  Why  should  I  speak 
of  Byblis,  who  burnt  with  a  forbidden  passion  for  her 
brother,^  and  with  a  rope’s  noose  bravely  atoned  her 
sin  ?  Myrrha  loved  her  father,  but  not  as  a  daughter 
should,  and  now  lies  imprisoned  in  the  confining 
bark :  with  her  tears,  poured  forth  from  the 
fragrant  tree,  are  we  anointed  :  the  drops  preserve 
their  mistress’  name.  Once  in  the  shady  vales  of 
woody  Ida  there  was  a  white  bull,  the  glory  of  the 
herd  ;  marked  was  he  by  a  spot  of  black  between  his 
horns ;  that  was  the  only  blemish,  the  rest  was 
white  as  milk.  Him  would  the  Gnosian  and  Cy- 
donian  heifers  fain  have  borne  upon  their  backs : 
Pasiphae  rejoieed  to  become  the  leman  of  a  bull,  and 
regarded  with  envious  hate  the  comely  cows.  Well 
known  is  that  I  sing  of :  Crete,  that  holds  a  hundred 
cities,  cannot  deny  this,  liar  though  she  be.^  Her¬ 
self  she  is  said  to  have  plucked  new  leaves  and 
tenderest  meadow-grass  for  the  bull  with  unaccus¬ 
tomed  hand.  She  goes  in  company  with  the  herds, 
nor  does  thought  of  her  lord  delay  her  going,  and 
a  bull  triumphed  over  Minos.  What  gain  to  thee, 

cf.  Epimenides,  quoted  in  St.  Paul’s  Ep.  to  Titus,  i.  12. 
Kp^Tfs  ael  tj/fverTai. 


D 


33 


OVID 


Quo  tibi,  Pasipliae,  pretiosas  sumere  vestes  ? 

Ille  tuus  nullas  sentit  adulter  opes. 

Quid  tibi  cum  speculo,  montana  armenta  petenti  ?  305 

Quid  totiens  positas  fingis,  inepta,  comas  ? 

Crede  tamen  speculo,  quod  te  negat  esse  iuvencam. 

Quam  cuperes  fronti  cornua  nata  tuae  ! 

Sive  placet  Minos,  nullus  quaeratur  adulter  : 

Sive  virum  mavis  fallere,  falle  viro  !  310 

In  nemus  et  saltus  thalamo  regina  relicto 
Fertur,  ut  Aonio  concita  Baccha  deo. 

A,  quotiens  vaccam  vultu  spectavit  iniquo. 

Et  dixit  “  domino  cur  placet  ista  meo  ? 

Aspice,  ut  ante  ipsum  teneris  exultet  in  herbis  :  315 

Nec  dubito,  quin  se  stulta  decere  putet.’' 

Dixit,  et  ingenti  iamdudum  de  grege  duci 
lussit  et  inmeritam  sub  iuga  curva  trahi. 

Aut  cadere  ante  aras  commentaque  sacra  coegit. 

Et  tenuit  laeta  paelicis  exta  manu.  320 

Paelicibus  quotiens  placavit  numina  caesis. 

Atque  ait,  exta  tenens  “  ite,  placete  meo  !  ” 

Et  modo  se  Europen  fieri,  modo  postulat  Io, 

Altera  quod  bos  est,  altera  vecta  bove. 

Hanc  tamen  implevit,  vacca  deceptus  acerna,  325 

Dux  gregis,  et  partu  proditus  auctor  erat. 

Cressa  Thyesteo  si  se  abstinuisset  amore, 

(Et  quantum  est,  uni  posse  placere  viro  !) 

Non  medium  rupisset  iter,  curruque  retorto 

Auroram  versis  Phoebus  adisset  equis.  330 

Filia  purpureos  Niso  furata  capillos 

Pube  premit  rabidos  inguinibusque  canes. 


1  Aerope,  wife  of  Atreus,  brother  of  Thyestes.  The  crimes  that 
followed  her  adultery  made  the  sun  hide  his  face  from  Mycenae. 

^  Scylla  ;  who  is  here  confused  with  the  monster  of  that  name, 
as  also  by  Virgil,  Eel.  vi.  74. 

34 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 

Pasiphae,  to  wear  thy  purple  gowns  ?  that  lover  of 
thine  recks  not  of  any  splendour.  What  dost  thou 
with  a  mirror,  seeking  the  herds  upon  the  mountains  ? 
Why  so  oft,  foolish  one,  dost  thou  dress  thy  braided 
hair  ?  Nay,  believe  thy  mirror  when  it  tells  thee 
thou  art  no  heifer.  How  hadst  thou  wished  that 
horns  grew  on  thy  brow  !  If  ’tis  Minos  pleases  thee, 
seek  no  adulterer ;  or  if  thou  wilt  deceive  thy  man,  with 
a  man  deceive  him  !  Leaving  her  bower  the  queen 
hies  her  to  the  woods  and  glens,  like  a  Bacchanal 
sped  by  the  Aonian  god.  Ah,  how  oft  did  she  look 
askance  upon  a  cow,  and  say,  “  Why  does  she  find 
favour  with  my  lord  ?  See  how  she  sports  before 
him  on  the  tender  grass :  nor  doubt  I  but  the 
foolish  thing  imagines  slie  is  comely.”  She  spoke, 
and  straightway  ordered  her  to  be  taken  from  the 
mighty  herd,  and  undeserving  to  be  dragged 
beneath  the  curving  yoke,  or  forced  her  to  fall 
before  the  altar  in  a  feigned  sacrifice,  and  held  in 
exultant  hands  her  rival’s  entrails.  How  oft  with 
her  rivals’  bodies  did  she  appease  the  gods,  and  say, 
as  she  held  their  entrails,  “  Now  go  and  find  favour 
with  my  lord  !  ”  And  now  she  craves  to  be  Europa 
and  now  to  be  lo,  for  the  one  was  a  cow,  and  the 
other  was  borne  by  a  cow’s  mate.  Her  none  the  less 
did  the  leader  of  the  herd  make  pregnant,  deceived 
by  a  cow  of  maple-wood,  and  by  her  offspring  was  the 
sire  betrayed.  Had  the  Cretan  woman  ^  abstained 
from  love  for  Thyestes  (how  great  a  boon  to  be  able  e 
to  please  one  man  alone  !),  Phoebus  had  not  broken 
off  in  mid-career,  and  wresting  his  car  about  turned 
round  his  steeds  to  face  the  dawn.  From  Nisus  his 
daughter  2  stole  the  purple  hairs,  and  now  holds 
raving  hounds  within  her  womb  and  loins.  The  son  of 

35 


OVID 


Qui  Martem  terra,  Neptunum  effugit  in  undis. 

Coniugis  Ati'ides  victima  dira  fuit. 

Cui  non  defleta  est  Ephyraeae  flamma  Creusae,  336 
Et  nece  natorum  sanguinolenta  parens  ? 

Flevit  Amyntorides  per  inania  lumina  Phoenix  : 

Hippolytum  pavidi  diripuistis  equi. 

Quid  fodis  inmeritis,  Phineu,  sua  lumina  natis? 

Poena  reversura  est  in  caput  ista  tuum.  340 

Omnia  feminea  sunt  ista  libidine  mota ; 

Acrior  est  nostra,  plusque  furoris  habet. 

Ergo  age,  ne  dubita  cunctas  sperare  puellas  ; 

Vix  erit  e  multis  quae  neget,  una  tibi. 

Quae  dant  quaeque  negant,  gaudent  tamen  esse  rogatae  : 

Ut  iam  fallaris,  tuta  repulsa  tua  est.  346 

Sed  cur  fallaris,  cum  sit  nova  gi'ata  voluptas. 

Et  capiant  animos  plus  aliena  suis  ? 

Fertilior  seges  est  alienis  semper  in  agris. 

Vicinumque  pecus  gi’andius  uber  habet.  350 

Sed  prius  ancillam  captandae  nosse  puellae 
Cura  sit ;  accessus  molliet  illa  tuos. 

Proxima  consiliis  dominae  sit  ut  illa,  videto. 

Ne  ve  parum  tacitis  conscia  fida  iocis. 

Hanc  tu  pollicitis,  hanc  tu  corrumpe  rogando  :  355 

Quod  petis,  ex  facili,  si  volet  illa,  feres. 

Illa  leget  tempus  (medici  quoque  tempora  servant) 

Quo  facilis  dominae  mens  sit  et  apta  capi. 

Mens  erit  apta  capi  tum,  cum  laetissima  rerum 

Ut  seges  in  pingui  luxuriabit  humo.  360 

Pectora  dum  gaudent  nec  sunt  adstricta  dolore. 

Ipsa  patent,  blanda  tum  subit  arte  Venus. 


^  They  were  falsely  accused  to  Phineus  by  their  stepmother 
Idaea. 

^  Cf.  Amores,  1.  11,  2.  8. 

36 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


Atreus,  who  escaped  Mars  on  land  and  Neptune  on 
the  deep,  was  the  dire  victim  of  his  wife.  Who  has 
not  bewailed  the  flames  of  Creusa  of  Ephyre,  and  the 
mother  stained  with  her  children’s  blood  ?  Phoenix, 
son  of  Amyntor,  shed  tears  from  empty  eyes  ;  ye 
frightened  horses,  ye  tore  Hippolytus  in  pieces. 
Why  piercest  thou,  O  Phineus,  the  eyes  of  thine 
innocent  sons.^^  upon  thine  own  head  will  the 
punishment  fall.  All  those  crimes  were  prompted  by 
women’s  lust ;  keener  is  it  than  ours,  and  has  more 
of  madness.  Come  then,  doubt  not  that  you  may 
win  all  women ;  scarce  one  out  of  many  will  there 
be  to  say  you  nay.  And,  grant  they  or  deny,  yet 
are  they  pleased  to  have  been  asked :  suppose,  say,  you 
are  mistaken,  your  rejection  brings  no  danger.  But 
why  should  you  be  mistaken,  since  ’  tis  new  delights 
that  win  welcome,  and  what  is  not  ours  charms  more 
than  our  own  ?  In  fields  not  ours  the  crops  are  ever 
more  bounteous,  and  the  neighbouring  herd  has 
richer  udders. 

But  take  care  first  to  know  the  handmaid  ^  of  the 
woman  you  would  win  ;  she  will  make  your  approach 
easy.  See  that  she  be  nearest  the  counsels  of  her 
mistress,  and  one  who  may  be  trusted  with  the 
secret  of  your  stolen  sport.  Corrupt  her  with 
promises,  corrupt  her  with  prayers  ;  if  she  be  willing, 
you  will  gain  your  end  with  ease.  She  will  choose 
a  time  (physicians  also  observe  times)  when  her 
mistress  is  in  an  easy  mood  and  apt  for  winning. 
Then  will  her  mind  be  apt  for  winning  when  in  the 
fulness  of  joy  she  grows  wanton  like  the  corn  crop  in  a 
rich  soil.®  When  hearts  are  glad,  and  not  fast  bound 
by  grief,  then  do  they  lie  open,  and  Venus  steals  in 

^  luxurio  is  used  both  of  crops  which  grow  very  vigorously 
and  of  persons  who  are  inclined  to  “run  riot.” 


37 


OVID 


Tum,  cum  tristis  erat,  defensa  est  Ilios  armis  : 

Militibus  gravidum  laeta  recepit  equum.  • 

Tum  quoque  temptanda  est,  cum  paelice  laesa  dolebit : 

Tum  facies  opera,  ne  sit  inulta,  tua.  366 

Hanc  matutinos  pectens  ancilla  capillos 
Incitet,  et  velo  remigis  addat  opem, 

Rt  secum  tenui  suspirans  murmure  dicat 

“  At,  puto,  non  potei’is  ipsa  referre  vicem.”  370 

Tum  de  te  narret,  tum  persuadentia  verba 
Addat,  et  insano  iuret  amore  mori. 

Sed  propera,  ne  vela  cadant  auraeque  residant : 

Ut  fragilis  glacies,  interit  ira  mora. 

Quaeris,  an  hanc  ipsam  prosit  violare  ministi’am  ?  375 

Talibus  admissis  alea  grandis  inest. 

Haec  a  concubitu  fit  sedula,  tardior  illa  ; 

Haec  dominae  munus  te  parat,  illa  sibi. 

Casus  in  eventu  est  ;  licet  hic  indulgeat  ausis. 

Consilium  tamen  est  abstinuisse  meum.  380 

Non  ego  per  praeceps  et  acuta  cacumina  vadam. 

Nec  iu venum  quisquam  me  duce  captus  erit. 

Si  tamen  illa  tibi,  dum  dat  recipitque  tabellas. 

Corpore,  non  tantum  sedulitate  placet. 

Fac  domina  potiare  prius,  comes  illa  sequatur  :  385 

Non  tibi  ab  ancilla  est  incipienda  venus. 

Hoc  unum  moneo,  siquid  modo  creditur  arti. 

Nec  mea  dicta  rapax  per  mare  ventus  agit  : 

Aut  non  temptaris,  aut  perfice  ;  tollitur  index. 

Cum  semel  in  partem  criminis  ipsa  venit.  390 

Non  avis  utiliter  viscatis  effugit  alis  ; 

Non  bene  de  laxis  cassibus  exit  aper. 

370  at  Lachmann  :  ut  EO  :  poteris  0  :  poteras  E. 

373  auraeque  Heinsius  :  iraeque  MSS. 

389  non  temptaris  Heinsius :  non  temptasses  0 :  non  quam 
temptas  R. 

38 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


with  persuasive  art.  Ilios,  when  sad,  was  defended 
by  its  hosts ;  rejoicing,  it  received  the  warrior- 
burdened  horse.  Then  too  may  she  be  tried,  when 
she  grieves  beneath  a  rival’s  smart ;  see  then  that 
by  your  efforts  she  lack  not  vengeance.  Let  her 
maid  incite  her,  as  she  combs  her  tresses  in  the 
morning,  and  add  the  help  of  an  oai’sman  to  the 
sail,  and  let  her  say,  sighing  softly  to  herself,  “  But, 
methinks,  you  will  not  be  able  to  pay  him  back 
yourself.”  ^  Then  let  her  speak  of  you,  then  add 
persuasive  words,  and  swear  that  you  are  d3dng  of 
frantic  love.  But  be  speedy,  lest  the  sails  sink  and 
the  breezes  fail  :  like  brittle  ice,  so  perishes  anger 
by  delaying.  You  will  ask,  whether  it  profits  to 
seduce  the  maid  herself ;  such  an  enterprise  involves 
much  hazard.  An  intrigue  makes  one  more  eager, 
another  more  sluggish  ;  this  one  wins  you  for  her 
mistress,  that  one  for  herself.  It  may  turn  out  well  or 
ill ;  though  the  issue  favour  the  hazard,  yet  my  counsel 
is,  abstain.  I  am  not  the  man  to  go  by  precipitous 
paths  and  rocky  heights  ;  no  youth  under  my  leader¬ 
ship  will  be  captured.  Yet  while  she  gives  and 
takes  your  letters,  should  her  figure  and  not  her 
services  alone  find  favour,  see  that  you  gain  the 
mistress  first,  and  let  the  servant  follow :  do  not 
begin  your  wooing  with  the  maid.  This  only  do  I 
urge  (if  you  but  trust  my  art,  and  the  rapacious 
breeze  blojvs  not  my  words  across  the  sea) :  either 
make  no  venture  or  be  successful ;  the  informer 
vanishes  when  once  she  shares  the  guilt.  The  bird 
cannot  make  good  its  escape  when  once  its  wings 
are  limed ;  the  boar  issues  not  easily  from  the 

*  i.e.  your  husband  has  been  unfaithful ;  what  a  pity  you 
could  not  pay  him  back  in  his  own  coin  ! 


39 


OVID 


Saucius  arrepto  piscis  teneatur  ab  hamo  : 

Perprime  temptatam,  nec  nisi  victor  abi. 

Tunc  neque  te  prodet  communi  noxia  culpa,  395 

Factaque  erunt  dominae  dictaque  nota  tibi. 

Sed  bene  celetur  ;  bene  si  celabitur  index, 

Notitiae  suberit  semper  amica  tuae. 

Tempora  qui  solis  operosa  colentibus  arva. 

Fallitur,  et  nautis  aspicienda  putat  ;  400 

Nec  semper  credenda  ceres  fallacibug  arvis, 

Nec  semper  viridi  concava  puppis  aquae. 

Nec  teneras  semper  tutum  captare  puellas: 

Saepe  dato  melius  tempore  fiet  idem. 

Sive  dies  suberit  natalis,  sive  Kalendae,  405 

Quas  Venerem  Marti  continuasse  iuvat. 

Sive  erit  ornatus  non  ut  fuit  ante  sigillis. 

Sed  regum  positas  Circus  habebit  opes, 

Differ  opus  :  tunc  tristis  hiems,  tunc  Pliades  instant. 
Tunc  tener  aequorea  mergitur  Haedus  aqua  ;  410 

Tunc  bene  desinitur  :  tunc  siquis  creditur  alto. 

Vix  tenuit  lacerae  naufraga  membra  ratis. 

Tu  licet  incipias  qua  flebilis  Allia  luce 
Vulneribus  Latiis  sanguinolenta  fluit. 

Quaque  die  redeunt,  rebus  minus  apta  gerendis,  415 
Culta  Palaestino  septima  festa  Syro. 

Magna  superstitio  tibi  sit  natalis  amicae  : 

Quaque  aliquid  dandum  est,  illa  sit  atra  dies. 

^  Do  not  press  your  suit  on  days  when  it  is  customary  to  give 
presents  ;  too  much  will  be  expected  of  j’ou.  Such  days  were 
birthdays,  April  1st,  which  was  the  feast  of  Venus,  and  there¬ 
fore  a  festival  popular  with  the  deini-mondaine,  though  we  are 
not  told  elsewhere  that  it  was  a  day  for  presents  (the  more  usual 
interpretation  is  March  1st,  the  feast  of  the  Matronalia,  when 
gifts  were  certainly  given),  and  the  days  referred  to  in  11.  407-8 
which,  according  to  Brandt,  are  those  of  the  Saturnalia,  when 
40 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


entangling  nets.  Let  the  fish  be  held  that  is 
wounded  from  seizing  the  hook ;  once  you  assail 
her,  press  the  attack,  nor  depart  unless  victorious. 
Then,  sharing  a  common  guilt,  she  will  not  betray 
you,  you  will  know  her  mistress’  words  and  deeds. 
But  keep  her  secret  well ;  if  the  informer’s  secret  be 
well  kept,  she  will  always  gladly  foster  your  intimacy. 

He  errs  who  thinks  that  seasons  are  to  be  marked 
by  sailors  only,  and  by  those  who  till  the  toilsome 
fields ;  not  always  must  the  corn  be  entrusted  to  the 
treachei’ous  fields,  nor  always  the  hollow  bark  to 
the  green  main,  nor  always  is  it  safe  to  angle  for 
young  girls ;  the  same  thing  often  goes  better  at 
the  appointed  season.  Whether  it  is  her  birthday,  or 
the  Kalends  which  delight  to  join  Venus  to  Mars,^ 
or  whether  the  Circus  is  adorned  not,  as  before,  by 
images,  but  holds  the  wealth  of  kings  displayed, 
put  off  your  attempt:  the  storm  is  lowering  then, 
and  the  Pleiads  threaten,  the  tender  Kid  is  merged 
in  the  watery  waves :  then  it  is  wise  to  stop ;  then, 
if  any  entrusts  him  to  the  deep,  scarce  has  he  saved 
his  torn  bark’s  shattered  wreck.  You  may  begin  on 
the  day  on  which  woeful  Allia  flows  stained  with  the 
blood  of  Latian  wounds,^  or  on  that  day,  less  fit  for 
business,  whereon  returns  the  seventh-day  feast  that 
the  Syrian  of  Palestine  observes.  But  hold  in  awful 
dread  your  lady’s  birthday ;  let  that  be  a  black  day 
whereon  a  present  must  be  given.  Shun  it  as  you 

there  was  probably  a  display  of  gifts  for  sale  in  the  Circus 
Maximus ;  when  there  was  an  unusually  costly  display,  and 
not  the  usual  show  of  trivialities  (“  sigilla,”)  the  lover  would 
be  well  advised  to  keep  away.  On  the  other  hand,  he  may 
make  an  appearance  when  the  shops  are  shut  on  the  “dies 
nefasti”  (11.  413-6),  and  there  can  be  no  idea  of  buying. 

^  July  18th. 


41 


OVID 


Cum  bene  vitaris,  tamen  auferet ;  invenit  artem 

Femina,  qua  cupidi  carpat  amantis  opes.  420 

Institor  ad  dominam  veniet  discinctus  emacem. 
Expediet  merces  teque  sedente  suas  ; 

Quas  illa,  inspicias,  sapere  ut  videare,  rogabit  ; 

Oscula  deinde  dabit  ;  deinde  rogabit,  emas. 

Hoc  fore  contentam  multos  iurabit  in  annos,  425 

Nunc  opus  esse  sibi,  nunc  bene  dicet  emi. 

Si  non  esse  domi,  quos  des,  causabere  nummos. 

Littera  poscetur — ne  didicisse  iuvet. 

Quid,  quasi  natali  cum  poscit  munera  libo. 

Et  quotiens  opus  est,  nascitur  illa  sibi  ?  430 

Quid,  cum  mendaci  damno  maestissima  plorat, 
Elapsusque  cava  fingitur  aure  lapis  ? 

Multa  rogant  utenda  dari,  data  reddere  nolunt : 

Perdis,  et  in  damno  gratia  nulla  tuo. 

Non  mihi,  sacrilegas  meretricum  ut  persequar  artes,  435 
Cum  totidem  linguis  sint  satis  ora  decem. 

Cera  vadum  temptet,  rasis  infusa  tabellis  : 

Cera  tuae  primum  nuntia  mentis  eat. 

Blanditias  ferat  illa  tuas  imitataque  amantum 

Verba  ;  nec  exiguas,  quisquis  es,  adde  preces.  440 
Hectora  donavit  Priamo  prece  motus  Achilles  ; 

Flectitur  iivatus  voce  rogante  deus. 

Promittas  facito  :  quid  enim  promittere  laedit  ? 

Pollicitis  dives  quilibet  esse  potest. 

Spes  tenet  in  tempus,  semel  est  si  credita,  longum  :  445 
Illa  quidem  fallax,  sed  tamen  apta  dea  est. 

Si  dederis  aliquid,  poteris  ratione  relinqui ; 

Praeteritum  tulerit,  perdideritque  nihil. 

438  nuntia  0  :  conscia  MSS, 


42 


ART  OF  LOVE;  I 


may,  yet  she  will  carry  off  the  spoil ;  a  woman 
knows  the  way  to  fleece  an  eager  lover  of  his  wealth. 
A  lewd  pedlar  will  come  to  your  mistress  when  in 
buying  mood,  and  will  spread  his  wares  before  her, 
while  you  sit  by  in  misery ;  and  she,  that  you  may  fancy 
yourself  a  judge,  will  ask  you  to  inspect  them  ;  then 
she  will  kiss  you  ;  then  she  will  ask  you  to  buy.  She 
will  swear  that  this  will  satisfy  her  for  many  a  long 
year,  that  she  needs  it  now,  that  now  is  a  good 
time  to  buy  it.  If  you  make  excuse  that  you  have 
not  the  cash  at  home  she  will  ask  for  a  note  of  hand 
— lest  you  should  be  glad  you  ever  learned  to  write. 
What,  when  she  claims  a  gift  to  buy,  as  she  says,  a 
bii'thday  cake,  and  has  a  birthday  as  often  as  she 
requires  ?  What  when  she  weeps  for  a  feigned  loss 
in  deepest  sorrow,  and  pretends  a  jewel  has  slipped 
from  the  shell  of  her  ear  ?  Many  things  do  they 
beg  to  borrow,  but,  once  borrowed,  will  not  give 
them  back  ;  you  have  lost  them,  but  gain  no  credit 
for  your  loss.  Ten  mouths  and  as  many  tongues 
would  not  suffice  me  to  tell  the  unholy  ruses  of  the 
fair. 

Let  wax,  spread  on  smooth  tablets,  attempt  the 
crossing ;  let  wax  go  first  to  show  your  mind.  Let 
that  carry  your  flatteries  and  words  that  play  the 
lover  ;  and,  whoever  you  are,  add  earnest  entreaties. 
Entreaty  moved  Achilles  to  give  Hector  back  to 
Priam  ;  a  god  when  angry  is  moved  by  the  voice  of 
prayer.  See  that  you  promise :  what  harm  is  there 
in  promises  ?  In  promises  anyone  can  be  rich.  Hope, 
once  conceived,  endures  for  long ;  a  treacherous 
goddess  is  she,  but  a  timely  one.  Once  you  have 
given,  you  may  be  abandoned  with  good  reason ;  she 
will  have  taken  your  gift  and  lost  nothing  herself. 

43 


OVID 


At  quod  non  dederis,  semper  videare  daturus  : 

Sic  dominum  sterilis  saepe  fefellit  ager  ;  450 

Sic,  ne  perdiderit,  non  cessat  perdere  lusor. 

Et  revocat  cupidas  alea  saepe  manus. 

Hoc  opus,  hic  labor  est,  primo  sine  munere  iungi ; 

Ne  dederit  gratis  quae  dedit,  usque  dabit. 

Ergo  eat  et  blandis  peraretur  littera  verbis,  455 

Exploretque  animos,  primaque  temptet  iter. 

Littera  Cydippen  pomo  perlata  fefellit, 

Insciaque  est  verbis  capta  puella  suis. 

Disce  bonas  artes,  moneo,  Romana  inventus. 

Non  tantum  trepidos  ut  tueare  reos  ;  460 

Quam  populus  iudexque  gravis  lectusque  senatus. 

Tam  dabit  eloquio  victa  puella  manus. 

Sed  lateant  vires,  nec  sis  in  fronte  disertus ; 

Effugiant  voces  verba  molesta  tuae. 

Quis,  nisi  mentis  inops,  tenerae  declamat  amicae  ?  465 

Saepe  valens  odii  littera  causa  fuit. 

Sit  tibi  credibilis  sermo  consuetaque  verba. 

Blanda  tamen,  praesens  ut  videare  loqui. 

Si  non  accipiet  scriptum,  inlectumque  remittet. 

Lecturam  spera,  propositumque  tene.  470 

Tempore  difficiles  veniunt  ad  aratra  iuvenci, 

Tempore  lenta  pati  frena  docentur  equi  : 

Ferreus  adsiduo  consumitur  anulus  usu. 

Interit  adsidua  vomer  aduncus  humo. 

Quid  magis  est  saxo  durum,  quid  mollius  unda  ?  475 

Dura  tamen  molli  saxa  cavantur  aqua. 

Penelopen  ipsam,  persta  modo,  tempore  vinces  : 

Capta  vides  sero  Pergama,  capta  tamen. 


1  He  is  quoting  from  Virgil,  Aen.  vi.  129. 

^  Acontius,  her  lover,  wrote  on  an  apple,  “I  swear  by  Diana 

44 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


But  what  you  have  not  given  you  may  seem  always 
on  the  point  of  giving  :  thus  many  a  time  has  a  barren 
field  deceived  its  owner  ;  thus,  lest  he  shall  have  lost, 
the  gambler  ceases  not  to  lose,  and  often  do  the  dice 
recall  his  greedy  hands.  “  Herein  the  task,  herein 
the  toil  ”  ^ — to  win  her  favour  with  no  preceding 
gift ;  lest  what  she  has  given  be  given  for  nothing, 
she  will  give  yet  more.  Therefore  let  a  letter  speed, 
traced  with  persuasive  words,  and  explore  her  feel¬ 
ings,  and  be  the  first  to  try  the  path.  A  letter 
carried  in  an  apple  betrayed  Cydipi^e,  and  the  maid 
was  deceived  unawares  by  her  own  words.^ 

Learn  noble  arts,  I  counsel  you,  young  men  of 
Rome,  not  only  that  you  may  defend  trembling 
clients  :  a  woman,  no  less  than  populace,  grave  judge  or 
chosen  senate,  will  surrender,  defeated,  to  eloquence. 
But  hide  your  powers,  nor  put  on  a  learned  brow  ;  let 
your  pleading  avoid  troublesome  words.  Who,  save 
an  idiot,  would  declaim  to  his  tender  sweetheart  ? 
often  has  a  letter  been  a  potent  cause  of  hate.^  Your 
language  should  inspire  trust  and  your  Avords  be 
familiar,  yet  coaxing  too,  so  that  you  seem  to  be 
speaking  in  her  presence.  If  she  does  not  receive 
your  message  and  sends  it  back  unread,  hope  that 
one  day  she  will  read,  and  hold  to  your  purpose.  In 
time  refractory  oxen  come  to  the  plough,  in  time 
horses  are  taught  to  bear  the  pliant  reins  ;  an  iron 
ring  is  w'orn  by  constant  use,  a  curved  share  wastes 
by  constant  ploughing  of  the  ground.  What  is 
harder  than  rock,  what  softer  than  water  ?  yet  soft 
water  hollows  out  hard  rock.  Only  persevere  ;  you 
will  overcome  Penelope  herself ;  late,  as  you  see, 
did  Pergamus  fall,  yet  fall  it  did.  Suppose  she  has 

to  marry  Acontius  ”  ;  Cydippe  read  it  aloud,  and  so  was  bound 
by  the  vow.  ®  i.e.  if  written  in  declamatory  style. 

45 


OVID 


Legerit,  et  nolit  rescribere  ?  cogere  noli : 

Tu  modo  blanditias  fac  legat  usque  tuas.  480 

Quae  voluit  legisse,  volet  rescribere  lectis  : 

Per  numeros  venient  ista  gradusque  suos. 

Forsitan  et  primo  veniet  tibi  littera  tristis. 

Quaeque  roget,  ne  se  sollicitare  velis. 

Quod  rogat  illa,  timet ;  quod  non  rogat,  optat,  ut  instes  ; 
Insequere,  et  voti  postmodo  compos  eris.  486 

Interea  sive  illa  toro  resupina  feretur, 

Lecticam  dominae  dissimulanter  adi, 

Neve  aliquis  verbis  odiosas  offerat  auris. 

Quam  potes  ambiguis  callidus  abde  notis.  490 

Seu  pedibus  vacuis  illi  spatiosa  teretur 

Porticus,  hic  socias  tu  quoque  iunge  moras  : 

Et  modo  praecedas  facito,  modo  terga  sequaris. 

Et  modo  festines,  et  modo  lentus  eas  ; 

Nec  tibi  de  mediis  aliquot  transire  columnas  495 

Sit  pudor,  aut  lateri  continuasse  latus ; 

Nec  sine  te  curvo  sedeat  speciosa  theatro  : 

Quod  spectes,  umeris  adferet  illa  suis. 

Illam  respicias,  illam  mirere  licebit ; 

Multa  supercilio,  multa  loquare  notis.  500 

Et  plaudas,  aliquam  mimo  saltante  puellam  : 

Et  faveas  illi,  quisquis  agatur  amans. 

Cum  surgit,  surges  ;  donec  sedet  illa,  sedebis ; 

Arbitrio  dominae  tempora  perde  tuae. 

Sed  tibi  nec  ferro  placeat  torquere  capillos,  505 

Nec  tua  mordaci  pumice  crura  teras. 

Ista  iube  faciant,  quorum  Cybeleia  mater 
Concinitur  Phrygiis  exululata  modis. 

Forma  viros  neglecta  decet ;  Minoida  Theseus 

Abstulit,  a  nulla  tempora  comptus  acu.  610 

46 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


readj  but  will  not  write  back ;  compel  her  not ;  only  see 
that  she  is  ever  reading  your  flatteries.  She  who  has 
consented  to  read  will  consent  to  answer  what  she 
has  read  ;  that  will  come  by  its  own  stages  and 
degrees.  Perhaps  even  an  angry  letter  will  first 
come  to  you,  asking  you  to  be  pleased  not  to  vex 
her.  what  she  asks,  she  fears ;  what  she  does  not 
ask,  she  desires — that  you  will  continue ;  press  on, 
then,  and  soon  you  will  have  gained  your  wish. 

Meanwhile,  whether  she  be  borne  reclining  on  her 
cushions,  approach  your  mistress’  litter  in  dissem¬ 
bling  fashion,  and  lest  someone  intrude  hateful  ears 
to  your  words,  hide  them,  so  far  as  you  may,  in 
cunning  ambiguities ;  or  whether  the  spacious 
colonnade  be  trodden  by  her  leisurely  feet,  do  you 
also  make  friendly  dalliance  there  ;  ^and  contrive  now 
to  go  before  her,  now  to  follow  behind,  now  huiry, 
now  go  slowly.  Neither  hesitate  to  slip  past  some 
of  the  columns  that  part  you,  nor  to  join  your  side 
to  hers  ;  nor  let  her  sit  in  the  round  theatre,  her  fair 
looks  by  you  unheeded  :  something  worth  looking  at 
she  will  bring  on  her  shoulders.  On  her  you  may 
turn  your  looks,  her  you  may  admire  :  much  let  your 
eyebrows,  much  let  your  gestures  say.  Applaud  when 
an  actor  portrays  some  woman  in  his  dance,  and  favour 
whoever  be  the  lover  that  is  played.  When  she 
rises  you  will  rise ;  while  she  sits  you  will  sit  too  ; 
waste  time  at  your  mistress’  will. 

But  take  no  pleasure  in  curling  your  hair  with  the 
iron,  or  in  scraping  your  legs  with  biting  pumice- 
stone.  Bid  them  do  that  by  whom  mother  Cybele  is 
sung  in  howling  chorus  of  Phrygian  measures.  An 
uncared-for  beauty  is  becoming  to  men ;  Theseus 
carried  off  Minos’  daughter,  though  no  clasp  decked 

47 


OVID 


Hippolytum  Phaedra,  nec  erat  bene  cultus,  amavit; 

Cura  deae  silvis  aptus  Adonis  erat. 

Munditie  placeant,  fuscentur  corpora  Campo  : 

Sit  bene  conveniens  et  sine  labe  toga  ; 

Lingula  ne  ruget,  careant  rubigine  dentes,  616 

Nec  vagus  in  laxa  pes  tibi  pelle  natet ; 

Nec  male  deformet  rigidos  tonsui-a  capillos  : 

Sit  coma,  sit  docta  barba  resecta  manu. 

Et  nihil  emineant,  et  sint  sine  sordibus  ungues  : 

Inque  cava  nullus  stet  tibi  nare  pilus.  620 

Nec  male  odorati  sit  tristis  anhelitus  oris  : 

Nec  laedat  naris  virque  paterque  gregis. 

Cetera  lascivae  faciant,  concede,  puellae. 

Et  siquis  male  vir  quaerit  habere  virum. 

Ecce,  suum  vatem  Liber  vocat ;  hic  quoque  amantes 
Adiuvat,  et  flammae,  qua  calet  ipse,  favet.  626 

Gnosis  in  ignotis  amens  errabat  harenis. 

Qua  brevis  aequoreis  Dia  feritur  aquis. 

Utque  erat  e  somno  tunica  velata  recincta, 

Nuda  pedem,  croceas  inreligata  comas,  630 

Thesea  crudelem  surdas  clamabat  ad  undas. 

Indigno  teneras  imbre  rigante  genas. 

Clamabat,  flebatque  simul,  sed  utrumque  decebat : 

Non  facta  est  lacrimis  turpior  illa  suis, 
lamque  iterum  tundens  mollissima  pectora  palmis  636 
“  Perfidus  ille  abiit ;  quid  mihi  fiet  ?  ”  ait. 

“  Quid  mihi  fiet  ?  ”  ait  :  sonuerunt  cymbala  toto 
Littore,  et  adtonita  tympana  pulsa  manu. 

613  munditie  E :  munditiae  3ISS. 

515  lingula  ne  ruget  Palmer  (v.  iii.  444) :  lingua  ne  rigeat  R 
(linguam  0) :  linguam  ne  pigeat  Hoasman. 

518  docta  Merkel  {from  a  MS.) :  tuta  BO :  scita  ffeinsius :  trita 
Houstnan. 

48 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


his  temples.  Phaedra  loved  Hippolytus,  nor  yet  was 
he  a  dandy  ;  Adonis,  born  to  the  woodland,  was  a 
goddess’  care.  Let  your  person  please  by  cleanliness, 
and  be  made  swarthy  by  the  Campus  ;  let  your  toga 
fit,  and  be  spotless  ;  do  not  let  your  shoe-strap  be 
wrinkled  ;  let  your  teeth  be  clear  of  rust,  and  your 
foot  not  float  astray  in  a  shoe  too  large  for  you  ;  nor 
let  your  stubborn  locks  be  spoilt  by  bad  cutting  ;  let 
hair  and  beard  be  dressed  by  a  skilled  hand.  Do 
not  let  your  nails  project,  and  let  them  be  free  of  dirt; 
nor  let  any  hair  be  in  the  hollow  of  your  nostrils. 
Let  not  the  breath  of  your  mouth  be  sour  and 
unpleasing,  nor  let  the  lord  and  master  of  the 
herd  offend  the  nose.  All  else  let  wanton  women 
practise;  and  such  men  as  basely  seek  to  please  a 
man. 

Lo  !  Liber  summons  his  bard  ;  he  too  helps  lovers, 
and  favours  the  flame  wherewith  he  burns  himself. 
The  Gnosian  maid  wandered  distractedly  on  the 
unknown  sand,  where  little  Dia  is  lashed  by  the  sea 
waves.^  Just  as  she  came  from  sleep,  clad  in  an  un¬ 
girt  tunic,  barefoot,  with  yellow  hair  unbound,  she 
cried  upon  Theseus  over  the  deaf  waters,  while  an 
innocent  shower  bedewed  her  tender  cheeks.  She 
clamoured  and  wept  together,  but  both  became  her  ; 
nor  was  she  made  less  comely  by  her  tears.  Again 
she  beats  her  soft  bosom  with  her  hands,  and 
cries,  “He  is  gone,  the  faithless  one ;  what 
will  become  of  me  ”  “  What  will  become  of 
me?”  she  cries:  then  o’er  all  the  shore  cymbals 
resounded  and  drums  beaten  by  frenzied  hands. 

1  Ariadne  was  the  daughter  of  Minos,  King  of  Crete  ;  Dia 
was  the  old  name  of  the  island  of  Naxos. 

49 

E 


OVID 


Excidit  illa  metUj  rujiitque  novissima  verba ; 

Nullus  in  exanimi  corpore  sanguis  erat.  640 

Ecce  Mimallonides  sparsis  in  terga  capillis  : 

Ecce  leves  satyri,  praevia  tui'ba  dei : 

Ebrius,  ecce,  senex  pando  Silenus  asello 
^'^ix  sedet,  et  pressas  continet  ante  iubas. 

Dum  sequitur  Bacchas,  Bacchae  fugiuntque  petuntque 
Quadrupedem  ferula  dum  malus  urget  eques,  546 
In  caput  aurito  cecidit  delapsus  asello  : 

Clamarunt  satyri  surge  age,  surge,  pater.” 
lam  deus  in  curru,  quem  summum  texerat  uvis, 

Tigribus  adiunctis  aurea  lora  dabat :  650 

Et  color  et  Theseus  et  vox  abiere  puellae  : 

Terque  fugam  petiit,  terque  retenta  metu  est. 
Horruit,  ut  steriles  agitat  quas  ventus  aristas. 

Ut  levis  in  madida  canna  palude  tremit. 

Cui  deus  “  en,  adsum  tibi  cura  fidelior  ”  inquit ;  665 

“  Pone  metum  :  Bacchi,  Gnosias,  uxor  eris. 

Munus  habe  caelum ;  caelo  spectabere  sidus  ; 

Saepe  reget  dubiam  Cressa  Corona  ratem.” 

Dixit,  et  e  curru,  ne  tigres  illa  timeret. 

Desilit ;  inposito  cessit  harena  pede  :  660 

Implicitamque  sinu  (neque  enim  pugnare  valebat) 
Abstulit ;  in  facili  est  omnia  posse  deo. 

Pars  “  Hymenaee  ”  canunt,  pars  clamant  Euhion 
“  euhoe  !  ” 

Sic  coeunt  sacro  nupta  deusque  toro. 

Ergo  ubi  contigerint  positi  tibi  munera  Bacchi,  665 
Atque  erit  in  socii  femina  parte  tori, 

Nycteliumque  patrem  nocturnaque  sacra  precare. 

Ne  iubeant  capiti  vina  nocere  tuo. 

544  ante  Merkel :  arte  MSS. 


^  The  epithet  of  Bacchus  derived  from  the  cry  of  the  Bacchanals. 

5° 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


She  fainted  for  fear^  and  broke  off  her  latest  words  ; 
no  blood  was  there  in  her  lifeless  frame.  Lo  !  ‘ 
Bacchanals  with  tresses  streaming  behind  them^  lo  ! 
w'anton  Satyrs,  the  god’s  forerunning  band  ;  lo  ! 
drunken  old  Silenus  scarce  sits  his  crookbacked  ass, 
and  leaning  clings  to  the  mane  before  him.  While 
he  pursues  the  Bacchanals,  and  the  Bacchanals  flee 
and  again  attack,  and  while  the  unskilful  horseman 
urges  his  beast  with  a  rod,  he  falls  off  the  long-eared 
ass  and  topples  head-foremost  and  the  Satyrs  cry, 

“  Come,  get  up,  father,  get  up  !  ”  And  now  on  his 
car,  that  he  had  covered  with  grape-clusters,  the 
god  was  giving  the  golden  reins  to  his  yoked  tigers  : 
voice,  colour — and  Theseus,  all  were  gone  from  the 
girl ;  thrice  did  she  essay  flight,  thrice  did  fear 
restrain  her.  She  shuddered,  as  when  dry  stalks  are 
shaken  by  the  wind,  as  when  the  light  rush  trembles 
in  the  watery  marsh.  ‘^Lo,  here  am  I,”  said  the 
god  to  her,  “a  more  faithful  lover;  have  no  fear, 
Gnosian  maid,  thou  shalt  be  the  spouse  of  Bacchus. 
For  thy  gift  take  the  sky ;  as  a  star  in  the  sky  thou 
shalt  be  gazed  at ;  the  Cretan  Crown  shall  often 
guide  the  doubtful  bark.  ”  He  spoke,  and  lest  she 
should  fear  the  tigers  leapt  down  from  the  chariot ; 
the  sand  gave  place  to  his  alighting  foot ;  and 
clasping  her  to  his  bosom  (for  she  had  no  strength 
to  fight)  he  bore  her  away ;  easy  is  it  for  a  god  to  be 
all-powerful.  Some  chant  “  Hail,  Hymenaeus !  ” 
some  shout  “  Euhoe  !  ”  to  the  Euhian ;  ^  so  do  the 
bride  and  the  god  meet  on  the  sacred  couch. 

Therefore  when  the  bounty  of  Bacchus  set  before 
you  falls  to  your  lot,  and  a  woman  shares  your  con¬ 
vivial  couch,  beseech  the  Nyctelian  ^  sire  and  the 
spirits  of  the  night  that  they  bid  not  the  wines  to 
2  i.e.  god  of  nocturnal  rites  and  orgies. 

E  2 


51 


OVID 


Hic  tibi  multa  licet  sermone  latentia  tecto 

Dicere,  quae  dici  sentiat  illa  sibi :  670 

Blanditiasque  leves  tenui  perscribere  vino. 

Ut  dominam  in  mensa  se  legat  illa  tuam  ; 

Atque  oculos  oculis  spectare  fatentibus  ignem  : 

Saepe  tacens  vocem  verbaque  vultus  habet. 

Fac  primus  rapias  illius  tacta  labellis  575 

Pocula,  quaque  bibit  jiarte  puella,  bibas  ; 

Et  quemcumque  cibum  digitis  libaverit  illa, 

Tu  jiete,  dumque  petes,  sit  tibi  tacta  manus. 

Sint  etiam  tua  vota,  viro  placuisse  puellae  : 

Utilior  vobis  factus  amicus  erit.  680 

Huic,  si  sorte  bibes,  sortem  concede  priorem  : 

Huic  detur  capiti  missa  corona  tuo. 

Sive  erit  inferior,  seu  par,  prior  omnia  sumat  : 

Nec  dubites  illi  verba  secunda  loqui. 

Tuta  frequensque  via  est,  per  amici  fallere  nomen  :  585 
Tuta  frequensque  licet  sit  via,  crimen  habet. 

Inde  procurator  nimium  quoque  multa  procurat. 

Et  sibi  mandatis  plura  videnda  putat. 

Certa  tibi  a  nobis  dabitur  mensura  bibendi ; 

Officium  praestent  mensque  pedesque  suum.  690 
lurgia  praecipue  vino  stimulata  caveto. 

Et  nimium  faciles  ad  fera  bella  manus. 

Occidit  Eurytion  stulte  data  vina  bibendo  ; 

Aptior  est  dulci  mensa  inerumque  ioco. 

1  The  order  of  drinking  was  often  decided  by  lot ;  it  is  not 
clear  whether  the  husband  is  to  be  given  the  first  tarn  as  a 
compliment,  or  to  be  allowed  to  throw  first.  Or  it  may  refer  to 
the  choosing  by  lot  of  a  master  of  the  banquet,  the  “arbiter 
bibendi.” 

52 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


hurt  your  head.  Here  may  you  say  many  things  lurk¬ 
ing  in  covered  speech,  so  that  she  may  feel  they  are 
said  to  her,  and  you  may  trace  light  flatteries  in  thin 
characters  of  wine,  that  on  the  table  she  may  read 
herself  your  mistress  ;  you  may  gaze  at  her  eyes  with 
eyes  that  confess  their  flame  :  there  are  often  voice 
and  Avords  in  a  silent  look.  See  that  you  ai-e  the 
first  to  seize  the  cup  her  lips  have  touched,  and  drink 
at  that  part  where  she  has  drunk ;  and  whatever 
food  she  has  touched  with  her  fingers  see  that  you 
ask  for,  and  while  you  ask  contrive  to  touch  her 
hand.  Let  it  also  be  your  aim  to  please  your  lady’s 
husband  ;  he  is  often  more  useful  to  you,  if  made  a 
friend.  To  him,  if  you  drink  by  lot,  concede  the 
first  turn  give  him  the  garland  tossed  from  your 
own  head.  Whether  he  be  beloAV  you  or  hold  an 
equal  place,  let  him  take  of  all  before  you  ;  nor 
hesitate  to  yield  him  place  in  talk.  ’Tis  a  safe  and 
oft-trodden  path,  to  deceive  under  the  name  of 
friend  ;  safe  and  oft-trodden  though  it  be,  ’tis  the 
path  of  guilt.  Thus  too  an  agent  pui'sues  his  agency 
too  far  and  looks  after  more  than  Avas  committed  to 
his  charge. 2 

1  will  give  you  a  sure  measure  of  drinking :  let 
mind  and  feet  perform  their  duty.  Especially 
beware  of  quarrels  caused  by  wine,  and  of  hands  too 
quick  to  brutal  fight.  Eurytion  ^  fell  by  stupidly 
drinking  the  liquor  set  before  him ;  the  table  and 
the  wine-cup  are  fitter  for  mirthful  jests.  Sing,  if 

2  This  awkward  couplet  seems  to  mean  that  as  a  friend 
may  abuse  friendship,  so  the  husband’s  steward  or  manager 
may  take  to  “  looking  after  ”  his  Avife. 

®  A  Centaur,  made  drunk  at  the  feast  of  the  Lapiths ; 
cf.  Horn.  Od.  21.  295. 


53 


OVID 


Si  vox  estj  canta  :  si  mollia  brachia,  salta  :  595 

Et  quacumque  potes  dote  placere,  place. 

Ebrietas  ut  vera  nocet,  sic  ficta  iuvabit : 

Fac  tibubet  blaeso  subdola  lingua  sono. 

Ut,  quicquid  facias  dicasve  pi’otervius  aequo. 

Credatur  nimium  causa  fuisse  merum.  600 

Et  bene  dic  dominae,  bene,  cum  quo  doi’miat  illa 
Sed,  male  sit,  tacita  mente  precare,  viro. 

At  cum  discedet  mensa  conviva  remota, 

Ipsa  tibi  accessus  turba  locumque  dabit. 

Insere  te  turbae,  levitei’que  admotus  eunti  605 

Velle  latus  digitis,  et  pede  tange  pedem. 

Conloquii  iam  tempus  adest ;  fuge  rustica  longe 
Hinc  pudor  ;  audentem  Forsque  Venusque  iuvat. 

Non  tua  sub  nostras  veniat  facundia  leges : 

Fac  tantum  incipias,  sponte  disertus  eris.  610 

Est  tibi  agendus  amans,  imitandaque  vulnera  verbis  ; 

Haec  tibi  quaei’atur  qualibet  arte  fides. 

Nec  credi  labor  est :  sibi  quaeque  videtur  amanda  ; 

Pessima  sit,  nulli  non  sua  forma  placet. 

Saepe  tamen  vere  coepit  simulator  amare,  615 

Saepe,  quod  incipiens  finxerat  esse,  fuit. 

Quo  magis  o,  faciles  imitantibus  este,  puellae  : 

Fiet  amor  verus,  qui  modo  falsus  erat. 

Blanditiis  animum  furtim  deprendere  nunc  sit. 

Ut  pendens  liquida  ripa  subitur  aqua.  620 

Nec  faciem,  nec  te  pigeat  laudare  capillos 
Et  teretes  digitos  exiguumque  pedem  : 

Delectant  etiam  castas  praeconia  formae  ; 

Virginibus  curae  grataque  forma  sua  est. 

Nam  cur  in  Phrygiis  lunonem  et  Pallada  silvis  625 

Nunc  quoque  indicium  non  tenuisse  pudet? 


54 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


you  have  a  voice ;  if  your  arms  are  lithe,  dance  ; 
please  by  whatever  gifts  you  can.  As  real  drunken¬ 
ness  does  harm,  so  will  feigned  bring  profit :  make 
your  crafty  tongue  stumble  in  stammering  talk,  so 
that,  whatever  you  do  or  say  more  freely  than  you 
should,  may  be  put  down  to  too  much  wine.  And 
“Here’s  luck,”  say,  “to  the  lady,”  and  “Luck  to 
him  who  sleeps  with  her !  ”  :  but  in  your  silent  soul 
let  the  prayer  be  “  Deuce  take  the  husband.”  But 
when  the  tables  are  removed  and  the  company  depai’t, 
and  the  crowd  itself  gives  you  chance  of  access,  join 
the  crowd,  and  gently  drawing  nigh  to  her  as  she 
goes  pull  her  sleeve  with  your  fingers,  and  let  your 
foot  touch  hers.  Now  is  the  time  for  talk  with  her ; 
away  with  you,  rustic  shame  !  Chance  and  Venus 
help  the  brave.  Let  not  your  eloquence  submit  to 
our  poets’  laws ;  see  but  that  you  make  a  start : 
your  eloquence  will  come  of  itself.  You  must  play 
the  lover,  and  counterfeit  heartache  with  words  :  her 
belief  in  that  you  must  win  by  any  device.  Nor  is  it 
hard  to  be  believed :  each  woman  thinks  herself 
lovable ;  hideous  though  she  be,  there  is  none  her 
own  looks  do  not  please.  Yet  often  the  pretender 
begins  to  love  truly  after  all,  and  often  becomes  what 
he  has  feigned  to  be.  Wherefore,  you  women,  be 
more  compliant  to  pretenders ;  one  day  will  the  love^ 
be  true  which  but  now  was  false.  Now  be  the  time 
to  ensnare  the  mind  with  crafty  flatteries,  as  the 
water  undermines  an  overhanging  bank.  Nor  be 
weary  of  praising  her  looks,  her  hair,  her  shapely 
fingers,  her  small  foot :  even  honest  maids  love  to 
hear  their  charms  extolled  ;  even  to  the  chaste  their 
beauty  is  a  care  and  a  delight.  For  why  even  now 
are  Juno  and  Pallas  ashamed  that  they  won  not  the 
judgment  in  the  Phrygian  woods  ?  When  you 

55 


OVID 


Laudatas  ostendit  avis  lunonia  pinnas  :  ^ 

Si  tacitus  spectes,  illa  recondit  opes. 

Quadrupedes  inter  rapidi  certamina  cursus 

Depexaeque  iubae  plausaque  colla  iuvant.  630 

Nec  timide  promitte  :  trahunt  promissa  puellas  ; 

Pollicito  testes  quoslibet  adde  deos, 
luppiter  ex  alto  periuria  ridet  amantum. 

Et  iubet  Aeolios  inrita  ferre  notos. 

Per  Styga  lunoni  falsum  iurare  solebat  635 

luppiter;  exemplo  nunc  favet  ipse  suo. 

Expedit  esse  deos,  et,  ut  expedit,  esse  putemus  ; 

Dentur  in  antiquos  tura  merumque  focos  ; 

Nec  secura  quies  illos  similisque  sopori 

Detinet ;  innocue  vivite  :  numen  adest ;  640 

Reddite  depositum  ;  pietas  sua  foedera  servet : 

Fraus  absit ;  vacuas  caedis  habete  manus. 

Ludite,  si  sapitis,  solas  impune  puellas; 

Hac  minus  est  una  fraude  tuenda  fides. 

Fallite  fallentes  :  ex  magna  parte  profanum  645 

Sunt  genus  :  in  laqueos  quos  posuere,  cadant. 

Dicitur  Aegyptos  caruisse  iiivantibus  arva 
Imbribus,  atque  annos  sicca  fuisse  novem. 

Cum  Thrasius  Busirin  adit,  momstratque  piari 

Hospitis  adfuso  sanguine  posse  lovem.  650 

Illi  Busiris  fies  lovis  hostia  primus,” 

Inquit  “et  Aegypto  tu  dabis  hospes  aquam.” 

Et  Phalaris  tauro  violenti  membra  Perilli 
Torruit ;  infelix  inbuit  auctor  opus, 
lustus  uterque  fuit :  neque  enim  lex  aequior  ulla  est. 
Quam  necis  artifices  arte  perire  sua.  656 

Ergo  ut  periuras  merito  periuria  fallant. 

Exemplo  doleat  femina  laesa  suo. 

644  minus  .  .  .  tuenda  Heinsius  {from  MSS.) :  magis  .  .  , 
pudenda  RO. 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


praise  her  the  bird  of  Juno  displays  her  plumes  : 
should  you  gaze  in  silence  she  hides  away  her  wealth. 
Even  steeds,  amid  the  contests  of  the  rapid  course, 
delight  to  have  their  manes  combed  and  their  necks 
patted. 

Nor  be  timid  in  your  promises  ;  by  promises  women 
are  betrayed  ;  call  as  witnesses  what  gods  you  please. 
Jupiter  from  on  high  laughs  at  the  perjuries  of  lovers, 
and  bids  the  winds  of  Aeolus  carry  them  unfulfilled 
away.  Jupiter  was  wont  to  swear  falsely  by  Styx  to 
Juno;  now  he  favours  his  own  example.  It  is 
expedient  there  should  be  gods,  and  as  it  is  ex¬ 
pedient  let  us  deem  that  gods  exist ;  let  incense  and 
wine  be  poured  on  the  ancient  hearths ;  nor  does ' 
careless  quiet  like  unto  slumber  hold  them ;  live 
innocently,  gods  are  nigh ;  return  what  is  given  to 
your  keeping  ;  let  duty  keep  her  covenant ;  let  fraud 
be  absent ;  keep  your  hands  clean  of  blood.  If  you 
are  wise,  cheat  women  only,  and  avoid  trouble  ;  keep 
faith  save  for  this  one  deceitfulness.  Deceive  the 
deceivers;  they  are  mostly  an  unrighteous  sort;  let 
them  fall  into  the  snare  which  they  have  laid. 
Egypt  is  said  to  have  lacked  the  rains  that  bless 
its  fields,  and  to  have  been  parched  for  nine  years, 
when  Thrasius  approached  Busiris,  and  showed  that 
Jove  could  be  propitiated  by  the  outpoured  blood  of 
a  stranger.  To  him  said  Busiris,  “  Thou  shalt  be 
Jove’s  first  victim,  and  as  a  stranger  give  water  unto 
Egypt.”  Phalaris  too  roasted  in  his  fierce  bull  the 
limbs  of  Perillus ;  its  maker  first  made  trial  of  his 
ill-omened  work.  Both  were  just ;  for  there  is  no 
juster  law  than  that  contrivers  of  death  should 
perish  by  their  own  contrivances.  Therefore,  that 
perjuries  may  rightly  cheat  the  perjured,  let  the 
woman  feel  the  smart  of  a  wound  she  first  inflicted. 

57 


OVID 


Et  lacrimae  prosunt :  lacrimis  adamanta  movebis  : 

Fac  madidas  videat^  si  potes^  illa  genas.  660 

Si  lacrimae  (neque  enim  veniunt  in  tempore  semper) 
Deficient,  uda  lumina  tange  manu. 

Quis  sapiens  blandis  non  misceat  oscula  verbis  ? 

Illa  licet  non  det,  non  data  sume  tamen. 

Pugnabit  primo  fortassis,  et  “  improbe  ”  dicet ;  665 

Pugnando  vinci  se  tamen  illa  volet. 

Tantum  ne  noceant  teneris  male  rapta  labellis, 

Neve  queri  possit  dura  fuisse,  cave. 

Oscula  qui  sumpsit,  si  non  et  cetera  sumet. 

Haec  quoque,  quae  data  sunt,  perdere  dignus  erit.  670 
Quantum  defuerat  pleno  post  oscula  voto  ? 

Ei  mihi,  rusticita,s,  non  pudor  ille  fuit. 

Vim  licet  appelles  :  grata  est  vis  ista  puellis  : 

Quod  iuvat,  invitae  saepe  dedisse  volunt. 

Quaecumque  est  veneris  subita  violata  rapina,  675 

Gaudet,  et  inprobitas  muneris  instar  habet. 

At  quae  cum  posset  cogi,  non  tacta  recessit. 

Ut  simulet  vultu  gaudia,  tristis  erit. 

Vim  passa  est  Phoebe  :  vis  est  allata  sorori ; 

Et  gratus  raptae  raptor  uterque  fuit.  680 

Fabula  nota  quidem,  sed  non  indigna  referri, 

Scyrias  Haemonio  iuncta  puella  viro, 
lam  dea  laudatae  dederat  sua  praemia  formae 
Colle  sub  Idaeo  vincere  digna  duas  : 
lam  nurus  ad  Priamum  diverso  venerat  orbe,  685 

Graiaque  in  Iliacis  moenibus  uxor  erat  ; 
lurabant  omnes  in  laesi  verba  mariti  : 

Nam  dolor  unius  publica  causa  fuit. 

662  uda  31SS.  :  uncta  Heinsius. 

^  Phoebe  and  Hilaira,  daughters  of  Leucippus,  were  ravished 
by  Castor  and  Pollux  ;  see  Ov.  Fasti,  5.  699. 

58 


ART  OF  LOVE;  I 


Tears  too  are  useful;  with  tears  you  can  melt  iron; 
let  her  see,  if  possible,  your  moistened  cheeks.  If 
tears  fail  (for  they  do  not  always  come  at  need), 
touch  your  eyes  with  a  wet  hand.  Who  that  is  wise 
would  not  mingle  kisses  with  coaxing  words?  Though 
she  give  them  not,  yet  take  the  kisses  she  does  not 
give.  Perhaps  she  will  struggle  at  first,  and  cry  “  You 
villain  !  ”  yet  she  will  wish  to  be  beaten  in  the 
struggle.  Only  beware  lest  snatching  them  rudely 
you  hurt  her  tender  lips,  and  she  be  able  to  complain 
of  your  roughness.  He  who  has  taken  kisses,  if  he 
take  not  the  rest  beside,  will  deserve  to  lose  even  what 
was  granted.  After  kisses  how  much  was  lacking  to 
your  vow’s  fulfilment  ?  ah  !  that  was  awkwardness,  not 
modesty.  You  may  use  force  ;  women  like  you  to  use/ 
it ;  they  often  wish  to  give  unwillingly  what  they  like 
to  give.  She  whom  a  sudden  assault  has  taken  by  storm 
is  pleased,  and  counts  the  audacity  as  a  compliment. 
But  she  who,  when  she  might  have  been  compelled, 
departs  untouched,  though  her  looks  feign  joy,  will 
yet  be  sad.  Phoebe  suffered  violence,  violence  was 
used  against  her  sister  :  ^  each  ravisher  found  favour 
with  the  ravished.  Well-known,  yet  not  undeserving 
of  mention,  is  the  tale  of  the  Scyrian  maid  and  her 
Haemonian  lover.^  Already  had  the  goddess  given 
her  own  reward  for  her  beauty’s  praising,  she  who 
won  triumph  o’er  the  twain  ’neath  Ida’s  mount; 
already  from  distant  lands  his  daughter-in-law  had 
come  to  Priam,  and  a  Grecian  wife  was  within  the 
walls  of  Troy;  all  were  swearing  allegiance  to  the 
injured  spouse,  for  the  grief  of  one  became  the 

2  The  maid  is  Deidamia  and  the  lover  Achilles.  Lines 
683-689  describe  when  the  story  happened,  viz.  after  the 
carrying  off  of  Helen,  who  is  the  “gift”  {sua  praemia)  that 
Venus  bestows  on  Paris. 


59 


OVID 


Turpe,  nisi  hoc  matris  precibus  tribuisset,  Achilles 
Veste  virum  longa  dissimulatus  erat.  690 

Quid  facis,  Aeacide  ?  non  sunt  tua  munera  lanae ; 

Tu  titulos  alia  Palladis  arte  petas. 

Quid  tibi  cum  calathis  ?  clipeo  manus  apta  ferendo  est  ; 

Pensa  quid  in  dextra,  qua  cadet  Hector,  habes? 

Reice  succinctos  operoso  stamine  fusos  !  695 

Quassanda  est  ista  Pelias  hasta  manu. 

Forte  erat  in  thalamo  virgo  regalis  eodem  ; 

Haec  illum  stupro  comperit  esse  virum. 

Viribus  illa  quidem  victa  est,  ita  credere  oportet : 

Sed  voluit  vinci  viribus  illa  tamen.  700 

Saepe  “mane  !”  dixit,  cum  iam  properaret  Achilles  ; 

Fortia  nam  posito  sumpserat  arma  colo. 

Vis  ubi  nunc  illa  est  ?  Quid  blanda  voce  moraris 
Auctorem  stupri,  Deidamia,  tui  ? 

Scilicet  ut  pudor  est  quaedam  coepisse  priorem,  705 
Sic  alio  gratum  est  incipiente  pati. 

A  !  nimia  est  iuveni  propriae  fiducia  foimiae, 

Expectat  siquis,  dum  prior  illa  roget. 

Vir  prior  accedat,  vir  verba  precantia  dicat ; 

Excipiat  blandas  comiter  illa  preces.  710 

Ut  potiare,  roga  ;  tantum  cupit  illa  rogari ; 

Da  causam  voti  principiumque  tui. 
luppiter  ad  veteres  sujiplex  heroidas  ibat : 

Cori’upit  magnum  nulla  puella  lovem. 

Si  tamen  a  precibus  tumidos  accedere  fastus  715 

Senseris,  incepto  parce  referque  pedem. 

Quod  refugit,  multae  cupiunt  ;  odere  quod  instat  ; 

Lenius  instando  taedia  tolle  tui. 

Nec  semper  veneris  spes  est  profitenda  roganti  : 

Intret  amicitiae  nomine  tectus  amor.  720 

6o 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 

people’s  cause.  Basely,  had  he  not  so  far  yielded 
to  his  mother’s  prayers,  Achilles  had  disguised 
his  manhood  in  a  woman’s  robe.  What  dost  thou, 
Aeacides?  wools  are  not  thy  business;  by  another 
art  of  Pallas  thou  seekest  fame.  What  hast  thou  to 
do  with  baskets  ?  thy  arm  is  fitted  to  bear  a  shield. 

hy  boldest  thou  a  skein  in  the  hand  by  which 
Hector  shall  die  ?  Cast  away  the  spindle  girt 
about  with  toilsome  windings  !  That  hand  must 
shake  the  Pelian  spear.  It  chanced  that  in  the 
same  chamber  was  the  royal  maid ;  by  her  I’ape 
she  found  him  to  be  a  man.  By  force  indeed  was  she 
vanquished,  so  one  must  believe  ;  yet  by  force  did 
she  wish  to  be  vanquished  all  the  same.  Often 
cried  she,  “Stay,”  when  already  Achilles  was  hasting 
from  her  ;  for,  the  distaff  put  away,  he  had  taken 
valiant  arms.  Where  is  that  violence  now  ?  Why 
with  coaxing  words,  Deidamia,  dost  thou  make  to  tarry 
the  author  of  thy  rape  ?  In  truth,  just  as  there  is  shame 
sometimes  in  beginning  first,  so  when  another  begins 
it  is  pleasant  to  submit.  Ah,  too  confident  in  his  own 
charms  is  a  lover,  if  he  wait  until  she  ask  him  first. 
Let  the  man  take  the  first  step,  let  the  man  speak 
entreating  words ;  she  will  listen  kindly  to  coaxing 
entreaties.  That  you  may  gain  her,  ask  :  she  only 
wishes  to  be  asked ;  provide  the  cause  and  starting- 
point  of  your  desire.  Jupiter  went  a  suppliant  to 
the  heroines  of  old  ;  no  woman  seduced  the  mighty 
Jove.  Yet  if  you  find  that  your  prayers  cause  swollen 
pride,  stop  what  you  have  begun,  draw  back  a  pace. 
Many  wmmen  desire  what  flees  them ;  they  hate 
what  is  too  forward ;  moderate  your  advance,  and 
save  them  from  getting  tired  of  you.  Nor  must  the 
hope  of  possession  be  proclaimed  in  your  entreaties  ; 
let  love  find  entrance  veiled  in  friendship’s  name. 

6i 


OVID 


Hoc  aditu  vidi  tetricae  data  verba  puellae  ; 

Qui  fuerat  cultor,  factus  amator  erat. 

Candidus  in  nauta  turpis  coloi',  aequoris  unda 
Debet  et  a  radiis  sideris  esse  niger  ; 

Turpis  et  agricolae,  qui  vomere  semper  adunco 
Et  gravibus  rastris  sub  love  versat  humum. 

Et  tibi,  Palladiae  petitur  cui  palma  coronae. 

Candida  si  fuerint  corpora,  turpis  eris. 

Palleat  omnis  amans  :  hic  est  color  aptus  amanti ; 

Hoc  decet,  hoc  vultu  non  valuisse  putent. 

Pallidus  in  Dirces  silvis  errabat  Orion, 

Pallidus  in  lenta  naide  Daphnis  erat. 

Arguat  et  macies  animum  :  nec  turpe  putaris 
Palliolum  nitidis  inposuisse  comis. 

Attenuant  iuvenum  vigilatae  corpora  noctes 
Curaque  et  e  magno  qui  fit  amore,  dolor. 

Ut  voto  potiare  tuo,  miserabilis  esto. 

Ut  qui  te  videat,  dicere  possit  “  amas.” 
Conquerar,  an  moneam  mixtum  fas  omne  nefasque  ? 

Nomen  amicitia  est,  nomen  inane  fides. 

Ei  mihi,  non  tutum  est,  quod  ames,  laudare  sodali ; 

Cum  tibi  laudanti  credidit,  ipse  subit. 

At  non  Actorides  lectum  temeravit  Achillis  : 

Quantum  ad  Pirithoum,  Phaedra  pudica  fuit. 
Hermionam  Pylades  quo  Pallada  Phoebus,  amabat. 
Quodque  tibi  geminus,  Tyndari,  Castor,  erat. 
Siquis  idem  scierat,  iacturas  poma  myricas 
Speret,  et  e  medio  flumine  mella  petat. 

730  vultu  i/eMwww ;  multi  nulli  il/«eZZer. 

731  Dirces  Heinsius :  linees  R :  Orion  MS8.  :  Arion  R. 
747  iacturas  RO  :  laturas  MSS. 


725 

730 

735 

740 

745 


62 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


I  have  seen  an  unwilling  mistress  deluded  by  this 
approach ;  he  who  had  been  an  admirer  became  a 
lover. 

White  is  a  shameful  colour  in  a  sailor ;  swarthy 
should  he  be,  both  from  the  sea-waves  and  from 
heaven’s  beams ;  shameful  too  in  a  husbandman, 
who  ever  beneath  the  sky  turns  up  the  ground  with 
curved  ploughshare  and  heavy  harrows.  Thou  too 
who  seekest  the  prize  of  Pallas’  garland  ^  art  shamed 
if  thy  body  be  white.  But  let  every  lover  be  pale  ; 
this  is  the  lover’s  hue.  Such  looks  become  him ; 
from  such  a  countenance  let  them  imagine  you  to  be 
sick.  Pale  did  Orion  wander  in  Dirce’s  glades,  pale 
was  Daphnis  when  the  naiad  proved  unkind.  Let 
leanness  also  prove  your  feelings ;  nor  deem  it  base 
to  set  a  hood  on  your  bright  locks.  Nights  of  vigil 
make  thin  the  bodies  of  lovers,  and  anxiety  and  the 
distress  that  a  great  passion  brings.  That  you  may 
gain  your  desire  be  pitiable,  so  that  whoso  sees  you  t 
may  say,  “  You  are  in  love.”  Shall  I  complain,  or 
warn  you,  that  right  and  wrong  are  all  confounded  ? 
Friendship  is  but  a  name,  faith  is  an  emjity  name.  \ 
Alas,  it  is  not  safe  to  praise  to  a  friend  the  object  of 
your  love;  so  soon  as  he  believes  your  praises,  he  slips 
into  your  place.  But,  you  will  say,  the  son  of  Actor  ^ 
stained  not  Achilles’  couch,  and  as  concerned  Piri¬ 
thous,  Phaedra  was  chaste.  Pylades  loved  Hermione 
as  Phoebus  Pallas,  and  as  twin  Castor  was  to  thee, 

O  Tyndaris.  If  anyone  has  this  hope,  let  him  hope 
that  tamarisks  will  drop  apples,  let  him  seek  honey 
in  the  middle  of  a  river.  Naught  pleases  but  what 

1  i.e.  the  athlete,  who  contended  for  a  crown  of  olive  in 
the  games. 

^  Patroclus,  grandson  of  Actor. 


63 


OVID 


Nil  nisi  turpe  iuvat  ;  curae  sua  cuique  voluptas  : 

Haec  quoque  ab  alterius  grata  dolore  venit. 
Heu  facinus  !  non  est  hostis  metuendus  amanti ; 

Quos  credis  fidos,  effuge,  tutus  eris. 

Cognatum  fratremque  cave  carumque  sodalem  : 
Praebebit  veros  haec  tibi  turba  metus. 

Finiturus  eram,  sed  sunt  diversa  puellis 
Pectora  :  mille  animos  excipe  mille  modis. 

Nec  tellus  eadem  parit  omnia  ;  vitibus  illa 
Convenit,  haec  oleis  ;  hac  bene  farra  virent. 
Pectoi'ibus  mores  tot  sunt,  quot  in  orbe  figurae ; 

Qui  sapit,  innumeris  moribus  aptus  erit, 

Utque  leves  Proteus  modo  se  tenuabit  in  undas. 
Nunc  leo,  nunc  arbor,  nunc  erit  hirtus  aper. 
Hic  iaculo  pisces,  illa  capiuntur  ab  hamis  : 

Hic  cava  contento  retia  fune  trahunt. 

Nec  tibi  conveniet  cunctos  modus  unus  ad  annos  : 

Longius  insidias  cerva  videbit  anus. 

Si  doctus  videare  rudi,  petulansve  pudenti. 
Diffidet  miserae  protinus  illa  sibi. 

Inde  fit,  ut  quae  se  timuit  committere  honesto. 
Vilis  ad  amplexus  inferioris  eat. 

Pars  superat  coepti,  pars  est  exhausta  laboris. 

Hic  teneat  nostras  ancora  iacta  rates. 


750 

755 

760 

765 

770 


64 


ART  OF  LOVE:  I 


is  shameful,  none  cares  but  for  his  own  pleasure,  and 
sweet  is  that  when  it  springs  from  another’s  pain. 
Ah,  the  reproach  of  it !  no  foe  need  a  lover  fear ; 
fly  those  whom  you  deem  faithful,  and  you  will  be 
safe.  Kinsman,  brothei' — beware  of  them  and  of 
thy  boon  companion ;  they  will  cause  you  real  fears. 

I  was  about  to  end,  but  various  are  the  hearts  of 
women ;  use  a  thousand  means  to  waylay  as  many 
hearts.  The  same  earth  bears  not  everything ;  this 
soil  suits  vines,  that  olives  ;  in  that,  wheat  thrives. 
Hearts  have  as  many  fashions  as  the  world  has 
shapes ;  the  wise  man  will  suit  himself  to  countless 
fashions,  and  like  Proteus  will  now  resolve  himself 
into  light  waves,  and  now  will  be  a  lion,  now  a  tree, 
now  a  shaggy  boar.  These  fish  are  caught  with 
spears,  those  with  hooks ;  these  are  dragged  with 
taut  ropes  in  hollow  nets.  Nor  let  one  method  suit 
all  ages ;  a  grown  hind  will  regard  the  snare  from 
further  away.  Should  you  seem  learned  to  the 
simple,  or  wanton  to  the  prude,  she  will  straightway 
feel  a  pitiful  self-distrust.  And  so  comes  it  that  she 
who  has  feared  to  commit  herself  to  an  honourable 
lover  degrades  herself  to  the  embraces  of  a  mean 
one. 

Part  of  my  enterprise  remains,  part  is  now  finished. 
Here  let  the  anchor  be  thrown,  and  hold  my  bark 
secure. 


F 


65 


LIBER  SECUNDUS 


Dicite  'Mo  Paean  !  ”  et  “io  ”  bis  dicite  “  Paean  !  ” 
Decidit  in  casses  praeda  petita  meos  ; 

Laetus  amans  donat  viridi  mea  carmina  palma. 

Praelata  Ascraeo  Maeonioque  seni. 

Talis  ab  armiferis  Priameius  hospes  Amyclis  5 

Candida  cum  rapta  coniuge  vela  dedit ; 

Talis  erat  qui  te  curru  victore  ferebat, 

Vecta  peregrinis  Hippodamia  rotis. 

Quid  properas,  iuvenis  ?  mediis  tua  pinus  in  undis 
Navigat,  et  longe  quem  peto,  portus  abest.  10 

Non  satis  est  venisse  tibi  me  vate  puellam  : 

Arte  mea  capta  est,  arte  tenenda  mea  est. 

Nec  minor  est  virtus,  quam  quaerere,  parta  tueri  : 

Casus  inest  illic  ;  hoc  erit  artis  opus. 

Nunc  mihi,  siquando,  puer  et  Cytherea,  favete,  15 

Nunc  Erato,  nam  tu  nomen  amoris  habes. 

Magna  paro,  quas  possit  Amor  remanere  per  artes. 
Dicere,  tam  vasto  pervagus  orbe  puer. 

Et  levis  est,  et  habet  geminas,  quibus  avolet,  alas  : 
Difficile  est  illis  inposuisse  modum.  20 

Hospitis  effugio  praestruxerat  omnia  Minos  ; 

Audacem  pinnis  repperit  ille  viam. 

Daedalus  ut  clausit  conceptum  crimine  matris 
Semibovemque  virum  semivirumque  bovem, 

^  Pelops,  who  came  from  Phrygia  to  Elis,  the  home  of 
Hippodamia,  and  there  won  her  by  his  victory  in  a  chariot  race. 

^  cf.  epojs,  ^pay. 

3  Daedalus  had  fled  from  Athens,  and  taking  refuge  in  Crete 
had  constructed  a  prison  (the  labyrinth)  for  the  Minotaur  ;  wdien 
66 


BOOK  II 


Cry  Hurrah!  Triumph!”  and  “  Huri’ah !  Tri¬ 
umph  !  ”  cry  once  more  :  the  prey  I  sought  has  fallen 
into  my  toils  ;  joyously  does  the  lover  crown  my 
poem  with  green  palm-leaves^  and  prefer  it  to  the 
Maeonian  and  Ascraean  sages.  In  such  mood  did 
the  stranger,  Priam’s  son,  spread  his  gleaming  sails 
from  warlike  Amyclae  in  the  company  of  his  stolen 
bride ;  in  such  mood  was  he  who  bore  thee  in 
victorious  car,  O  Hippodamia,  conveyed  upon  his 
foreign  wheels.  ^  Why  do  you  hasten,  O  youth  ? 
your  bark  sails  in  mid-ocean,  and  the  harbour  I  seek 
is  far  away.  It  is  not  enough  that  through  my 
strains  you  have  won  your  mistress ;  by  my  art  you 
gained  her,  by  my  art  she  must  be  kept.  Nor  is 
there  less  prowess  in  guarding  what  is  won  than 
in  seeking  ;  in  that  there  is  chance,  but  this  task 
demands  skill.  Now,  if  ever,  favour  me,  Cytherea 
and  thy  Boy !  and  thou,  Erato,  for  thy  name  is  a 
name  of  Love.^  Great  things  am  I  planning — to  tell 
by  what  arts  Love  can  be  made  to  tarry,  the  boy 
that  wanders  over  the  wide  world.  Fickle  is  he, 
and  he  has  two  wings,  wherewith  to  fly  away  ;  hai-d 
is  it  to  restrain  them. 

Every  way  had  Minos  barred  his  guest’s  escape, 
yet  he  by  means  of  feathers  found  a  daring  path.^ 
When  Daedalus  imprisoned  him  whom  his  mother 
wrongfully  conceived,  the  man  half-bull  and  the  bull 

he  wished  to  return  to  his  native  land,  Minos  refiTsed  to  let 
him  go. 


F  2 


67 


OVID 


“  Sit  modus  exilio/’  dixit  “  iustissime  Minos  : 

Accipiat  cineres  terra  paterna  meos. 

Et  quoniam  in  patria,  fatis  agitatus  iniquis. 

Vivere  non  potui,  da  mihi  posse  mori. 

Da  reditum  puero,  senis  est  si  gratia  vilis  : 

Si  non  vis  puero  parcere,  parce  seni.” 

Dixerat  haec ;  sed  et  haec  et  multo  plura  licebat 

Dicere  :  regressus  non  dabat  ille  viro.  ^ 

Quod  simul  ut  sensit,  ^^nunc,  nunc,  o  Daedale, 
dixit : 

“  Materiam,  qua  sis  ingeniosus,  habes. 

Possidet  et  terras,  et  possidet  aequora  Minos  :  35 

Nec  tellus  nostrae,  nec  patet  unda  fugae. 

Restat  iter  caeli ;  caelo  temptabimus  ire. 

Da  veniam  coepto,  lupiter  alte,  meo  ; 

Non  ego  sidereas  adfecto  tangere  sedes  ; 

Qua  fugiam  dominum,  nulla,  nisi  ista,  via  est.  40 
Per  Styga  detur  iter,  Stygias  transnabimus  undas  ; 

Sunt  mihi  naturae  iura  novanda  meae.” 

Ingenium  mala  saepe  movent :  quis  crederet  umquam 
Aerias  hominem  carpere  posse  vias  ? 

Remigium  volucrum  disponit  in  ordine  pinnas,  45 

Et  leve  per  lini  vincula  nectit  opus, 

Imaque  pars  ceris  adstringitur  igne  solutis, 

Finitusque  novae  iam  labor  artis  erat. 

Tractabat  ceramque  puer  pinnasque  renidens. 

Nescius  haec  umeris  arma  parata  suis.  50 

Cui  pater  “his”  inquit  “patria  est  adeunda  carinis, 

Hac  nobis  Minos  effugiendus  ope. 

Aera  non  potuit  Minos,  alia  omnia  clausit ; 

Quem  licet,  inventis  aera  rumpe  meis. 

Sed  tibi  non  virgo  Tegeaea  comesque  Bootae  56 

Ensiger  Orion  aspiciendus  erit : 


25  ^ 

30 


68 


ART  OF  LOVE;  II 


half-man,  “  Let  my  exile  have  an  end,  most  righteous 
Minos,”  said  he,  ^^let  my  father’s  land  receive  my 
ashes.  And  because,  pursued  by  unjust  fate,  I  could 
not  live  in  my  own  country,  let  me  be  able  to  die 
there.  Grant  my  boy  his  return,  if  you  hold  cheap 
your  gratitude  to  his  sire  ;  spare  the  sire,  if  you  will 
not  spare  the  boy.”  So  spake  he  ;  but  this  and  much 
more  might  he  speak  ;  the  other  gave  not  the  hero 
his  return.  Which  when  he  knew,  he  said,  “  Now, 
Daedalus,  now  is  your  chance  to  show  your  wit. 
Lo  !  Minos  possesses  the  earth  and  also  the  seas ; 
nor  land  nor  wave  is  free  for  our  escape.  The  way 
of  the  sky  remains  :  by  the  sky  we  will  essay  to  go  ; 
pardon  my  enterprise,  Jupiter  on  high.  I  endeavour 
not  to  touch  thy  starry  dwellings ;  no  way  but  this 
have  I  to  escape  my  mastei'.  Should  a  way  be  given 
me  by  Styx,  o’er  the  Stygian  waters  we  will  swim ; 
I  must  devise  new  laws  for  my  nature.”  Ills 
often  stir  the  wits ;  who  would  e’er  have  believed 
that  man  could  sail  the  paths  of  air.^  He  arranges 
in  oi’der  feathers,  the  oarage  of  the  birds,  and  inter¬ 
weaves  the  frail  fabric  with  linen  fastenings ;  the 
base  is  bound  with  wax  softened  in  the  fire,  and 
already  the  toil  of  the  wondrous  work  was  over. 
With  beaming  face  the  boy  handled  the  feathers  and 
the  wax,  not  knowing  that  the  harness  was  prepared 
for  his  own  shoulders.  “These  are  the  ships,”  said 
Iiis  father,  “  whereon  we  must  sail  home  ;  by  their  aid 
must  we  flee  from  Minos.  The  air  Minos  could  not 
close,  though  he  had  closed  all  else  ;  break  through 
the  air  (for  there  thou  canst)  by  my  device.  But  not 
on  the  Tegean  maid  ^  nor  on  sword-bearing  Orion, 
comrade  of  Bootes,  must  thou  fix  thy  gaze  ;  me  do 

1  Callisto,  i.e.  the  constellation  of  the  Bear. 


69 


OVID 


Me  pinnis  sectare  datis ;  ego  praevius  ibo  : 

Sit  tua  cura  sequi;  me  duce  tutus  eris. 

Nam  sive  aetherias  vicino  sole  per  auras 
IbimuSj  impatiens  cera  caloris  erit  : 

Sive  humiles  propiore  freto  iactabimus  alas. 

Mobilis  aequoreis  pinna  madescet  aquis. 

Inter  utrumque  vola  ;  ventos  quoque,  nate,  timeto, 
Quaque  ferent  aurae,  vela  secunda  dato.” 

Dum  monet,  aptat  opus  puero,  monstratque  moveri. 
Erudit  infirmas  ut  sua  mater  aves. 

Inde  sibi  factas  umeris  accommodat  alas, 

Perque  novum  timide  corpora  librat  iter, 
lamque  volaturus  parvo  dedit  oscula  nato, 

Nec  patriae  lacrimas  continuere  genae. 

Monte  minor  collis,  campis  erat  altior  aequis  : 

Hinc  data  sunt  miserae  corpora  bina  fugae. 

Et  movet  ipse  suas,  et  nati  respicit  alas 
Daedalus,  et  cursus  sustinet  usque  suos, 
lamque  novum  delectat  iter,  positoque  timore 
Icarus  audaci  fortius  arte  volat. 

Hos  aliquis,  tremula  dum  captat  arundine  pisces. 
Vidit,  et  inceptum  dextra  reliquit  opus, 
lam  Samos  a  laeva  (fuerant  Naxosque  relictae 
Et  Paros  et  Clario  Delos  amata  deo) 

Dextra  Lebynthos  erat  silvisque  umbrosa  Calymne 
Cinctaque  piscosis  Astypalaea  vadis, 

Cum  puer,  incautis  nimium  temerarius  annis, 

Altius  egit  iter,  deseruitque  patrem. 

Vincla  labant,  et  cera  deo  propiore  liquescit. 

Nec  tenues  ventos  brachia  mota  tenent. 


60 

65 

70 

75 

80 

85 


70 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 

thou  follow  on  the  wings  that  I  shall  give  thee ;  I 
will  lead  the  way,  let  it  be  thine  to  follow ;  under 
my  leadership  thou  wilt  be  safe.  For  if  we  go  nigh 
the  sun  through  the  upper  air,  the  wax  will  be 
impatient  of  the  heat ;  or  if  we  beat  our  low-flying 
wings  too  near  the  sea,  the  nimble  feathers  will  be 
wet  with  watery  spi’ay.  Fly  between  the  two  ;  and 
the  winds  also  hold  in  awe,  my  son,  and  where  the 
breezes  carry  thee,  spread  thy  sails  to  the  breeze.” 
While  he  counsels,  he  fits  his  handiwork  on  the 
boy,  and  shows  him  how  to  move,  as  their  mother 
instructs  the  tender  fledglings.  Then  he  fastens 
on  his  own  shoulders  the  wings  he  has  made, 
and  cautiously  poises  his  body  for  its  new  journey. 
And  now  on  the  verge  of  flight  he  kissed  his  little 
son,  nor  could  the  father’s  eyes  restrain  the  tears. 
There  was  a  hill  smaller  than  a  mountain,  but  rising 
above  the  level  plains ;  from  this  the  bodies  of  the 
twain  were  launched  on  their  hapless  flight.  Dae¬ 
dalus,  while  he  plies  his  own,  looks  back  at  his  son’s 
wings,  and  ever  keeps  on  his  owm  course.  And 
now  the  wondrous  voyage  delights  them,  and 
forgetting  his  fear  Icarus  flies  more  courageously 
with  daring  skill.  One  who  was  catching  fish  on  a 
tremulous  line  beheld  them,  and  his  right  hand  left 
the  task  he  had  begun.  Already  was  Samos  on  their 
left,  (Naxos  and  Paros  had  been  passed,  and  Delos 
loved  by  the  Clarian  god)  :  on  their  right  was 
Lebynthos  and  Calymne  shady  with  forests,  and 
Astypalaea  girt  with  fish-haunted  seas ;  when  the 
boy,  too  bold  in  his  youthful  daring,  deserted  his 
sire  and  winged  his  way  too  high.  The  fastenings 
give  way,  and  the  wax,  too  near  the  god,  is  melted  ; 
nor  do  his  moving  arms  keep  their  hold  on  the  frail 

V 


OVID 


Territus  a  summo  despexit  in  aequora  caelo  : 

Nox  oculis  pavido  venit  oborta  metu. 

Tabuerant  cerae  :  nudos  quatit  ille  lacertos, 

Et  trepidat,  nec  quo  sustineatur,  habet.  90 

Decidit,  atque  cadens  “  pater,  o  pater,  auferor  !  ”  inquit, 
Clauserunt  virides  ora  loquentis  aquae. 

At  pater  infelix,  nec  iam  pater,  “  Icare  !  ”  clamat, 

“  Icare,”  clamat  “  ubi  es,  quove  sub  axe  volas  ?  ” 

“  Icare  ”  clamabat,  pinnas  aspexit  in  undis.  95 

Ossa  tegit  tellus  :  aequora  nomen  habent. 

Non  potuit  Minos  hominis  conpescere  pinnas  ; 

Ipse  deum  volucrem  detinuisse  paro. 

Fallitur,  Haemonias  siquis  decurrit  ad  artes, 

Datque,  quod  a  teneri  fronte  revellit  equi.  100 

Non  facient,  ut  vivat  amor,  Medeides  herbae 
Mixtaque  cum  magicis  naenia  Marsa  sonis. 

Phasias  Aesoniden,  Circe  tenuisset  Ulixem, 

Si  modo  servari  carmine  posset  amor. 

Nec  data  profuerint  pallentia  philtra  puellis  :  105 

Philtra  nocent  animis,  vimque  furoris  habent. 

Sit  procul  omne  nefas  ;  ut  ameris,  amabilis  esto  : 

Quod  tibi  non  facies  solave  forma  dabit : 

Sis  licet  antiquo  Nireus  adamatus  Homei’o, 

Naiadumque  tener  crimine  raptus  Hylas,  110 

Ut  dominam  teneas,  nec  te  mirere  relictum, 

Ingenii  dotes  corporis  adde  bonis. 

87  despexit  3ISS. :  dispexit  M. 

109  sis  Heinsius :  sit  M8S. 


^  i.e.  o£  Thessaly,  famed  for  magic,  as  was  also  the  mountain 
district  of  the  ISIarsi  in  Central  Italy. 

^  The  “hippomanes”  was  said  to  be  a  growth  upon  the 
forehead  of  a  foal,  which  was  bitten  off  b}"  the  mare  imme- 

72 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


airs.  Terrified,  he  gazed  down  at  the  water  from 
the  height  of  heaven ;  in  his  panic  fear  darkness 
came  flooding  upon  his  eyes.  The  wax  had  melted  : 
bare  are  the  arms  he  shakes ;  he  shudders,  nor  has 
he  aught  that  may  sustain  him.  Down  he  falls,  and 
falling  cries,  “  Father,  O  father,  I  am  borne  away  ”  ; 
the  green  waters  choked  the  words  upon  his  lips. 
But  his  hapless  sire,  a  sire  no  longer,  calls,  “  Icarus  !  ” 
“  Icarus  !  ”  he  cries,  “  where  art  thou  ?  where  beneath 
heaven  art  thou  flying  ?  ”  “  Icarus  !  ”  he  was  cry- 
ins: — he  saw  the  feathers  in  the  water.  The  earth 

O 

covers  his  bones  :  the  waters  bear  his  name. 

Minos  could  not  control  the  wings  of  a  man ;  I 
am  planning  to  hold  fast  the  winged  god.  Deceived 
is  he  whoever  has  recourse  to  Haemonian  arts,^  and 
gives  what  he  tears  from  the  forehead  of  a  foal.^ 
Medean  herbs  will  not  keep  love  alive,  nor  Marsian 
charm  united  to  magic  sounds.  The  Phasian  had 
kept  the  son  of  Aeson,®  Circe  had  kept  Ulysses,  if 
love  could  be  saved  by  spells  alone.  Nor  will  pale 
philtres  given  to  girls  profit :  philtres  affect  the  mind 
and  have  power  to  madden.  Far  hence  be  all  un¬ 
holy  deeds  !  that  you  may  be  loved,  be  lovable ;  and 
this  nor  face  nor  figure  alone  will  bring  you  ;  though 
you  be  Nireus,  loved  by  Homer  of  old,  or  young 
Hylas,  stolen  by  naughty  Naiads,  that  you  may 
keep  your  mistress,  nor  marvel  to  find  yourself 
abandoned,  add  gifts  of  mind  to  bodily  advantages. 

diately  after  giving  birth,  and  which  had  the  power  of  a 
love-potion  (cf.  Plin.  N.H.  8.  165) ;  elsewhere  it  is  described 
as  a  poison  that  dripped  from  the  genitals  of  mares  (Virg.  G. 
3.  280  ;  Tib.  2.  4.  57  ;  Prop.  4.  5.  18) ;  or  as  an  Arcadian  plant 
(Theocr.  2.  48). 

^  Medea  and  Jason. 


73 


OVID 


Forma  bonum  fragile  est,  quantumque  accedit  ad  annos 
Fit  minor,  et  spatio  carpitur  ipsa  suo. 

Nec  violae  semper  nec  hiantia  lilia  florent,  115 

Et  riget  amissa  spina  relicta  rosa. 

Et  tibi  iam  venient  cani,  formose,  capilli, 
lani  venient  rugae,  quae  tibi  corpus  arent. 

Iam  molire  animum,  qui  duret,  et  adstrue  formae  : 

Solus  ad  extremos  permanet  ille  rogos.  120 

Nec  levis  ingenuas  pectus  coluisse  per  artes 
Cura  sit  et  linguas  edidicisse  duas. 

Non  formosus  erat,  sed  erat  facundus  Ulixes, 

Et  tamen  aequoreas  torsit  amore  deas. 

O  quotiens  illum  doluit  properare  Calypso,  125 

Remigioque  aptas  esse  negavit  aquas  ! 

Haec  Troiae  casus  iterumque  iterumque  rogabat  : 

Ille  referre  aliter  saepe  solebat  idem. 

Littore  constiterant :  illic  quoque  pulchra  Calypso 
Exigit  Odrysii  fata  cruenta  ducis.  130 

Ille  levi  virga  (virgam  nam  forte  tenebat) 

Quod  rogat,  in  spisso  littore  pingit  opus. 

Haec  ”  inquit  “  Troia  est,”  muros  in  littore  fecit : 

“  Hic  tibi  sit  Simois  ;  haec  mea  castra  puta. 

Campus  erat,”  (campumque  facit)  “quem  caede  Dolonis 
Sparsimus,  Haemonios  dum  vigil  optat  equos.  136 
Illic  Sithonii  fuerant  tentoria  Rhesi  ; 

Hac  ego  sum  captis  nocte  revectus  equis.” 

Pluraque  pingebat,  subitus  cum  Pergama  fluctus 

Abstulit  et  Rhesi  cum  duce  castra  suo.  140 

Tum  dea  “  quas  ”  inquit  “  fidas  tibi  credis  ituro. 
Perdiderint  undae  nomina  quanta,  vides?  ” 

115  semper  nec  hiantia  some  MSS.  ianthina  co7ij.  Brandt: 
semperve  hyacinthia  Heinsms  (nec  hyaccintia  with  hyac  erased 
aivd  Apollinea  written  over  B). 

74 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


A  frail  advantage  is  beauty,  that  grows  less  as  time 
draws  on,  and  is  devoured  by  its  own  years.  Violets 
do  not  bloom  for  ever,  nor  lilies  open-mouthed  ;  when 
the  rose  is  perished,  the  hard  thorn  is  left  behind. 
And  to  thee,  O  handsome  youth,  will  soon  come 
hoary  hairs,  soon  will  come  wrinkles  to  make  furrows 
in  your  body.  Now  make  thee  a  soul  that  will  abide, 
and  add  it  to  thy  beauty ;  only  that  endures  to  the 
ultimate  pyre.  Nor  let  it  be  a  slight  care  to  cultivate 
your  mind  in  liberal  arts,  or  to  learn  the  two 
languages  well.  Ulysses  was  not  comely,  but  he 
was  eloquent ;  yet  he  fired  two  goddesses  of  the  sea 
with  love.  Ah,  how  oft  did  Calypso  grieve  that  he 
was  hasting,  and  say  that  the  waters  were  not  fit  for 
oars.  Again  and  again  did  she  ask  to  hear  the  fate 
of  Troy  ;  often  would  he  tell  the  same  tale  in  other 
words.  They  stood  upon  the  shore ;  there  also  fair 
Calypso  inquired  the  cruel  fate  of  the  Odrysian  chiefs 
He  with  a  light  staff  (for  by  chance  he  carried  a 
staff)  draws  in  the  deep  sand  the  tale  of  which  she 
asks.  “Here,”  says  he  “is  Troy”  (he  made  walls 
upon  the  beach),  “  and  here,  suppose,  is  Simois ; 
imagine  this  to  be  my  camp.  There  was  a  plain” 
(and  he  draws  a  plain)  “  which  we  sprinkled  with 
Dolon’s  blood,  while  he  watched  and  yearned  for 
the  Haemonian  steeds.  There  were  the  tents  of 
Sithonian  Rhesus ;  on  that  night  I  rode  back  on  the 
captured  horses.”  More  was  he  portraying,  when  a 
sudden  wave  washed  Pergamus  away,  and  the  camp 
of  Rhesus  with  its  chief.  Then  said  the  goddess, 
“  Those  waters  which  thou  thinkest  will  be  favour¬ 
able  to  thy  voyage,  dost  see  what  great  names  they 
have  destroyed  }  ” 

1  The  Thracian  king  Rhesus. 


75 


OVID 


Ergo  age,  fallaci  timide  confide  figurae, 

Quisquis  es,  aut  aliquid  corpore  pluris  habe. 
Dextera  praecipue  eapit  indulgentia  mentes  ; 

Asperitas  odium  saevaque  bella  movet. 

Odimus  accipitrem,  quia  vivit  semper  in  armis. 
Et  pavidum  solitos  in  pecus  ire  lupos. 

At  caret  insidiis  hominum,  quia  mitis,  hirundo, 
Quasque  colat  turres,  Chaonis  ales  habet. 

Este  procul,  lites  et  amarae  proelia  linguae  : 

Dulcibus  est  verbis  mollis  alendus  amor. 

Lite  fugent  nuptaeque  viros,  nuptasque  mariti, 
Inque  vicem  credant  res  sibi  semper  agi  ; 

Hoc  decet  uxores ;  dos  est  uxoria  lites  : 

Audiat  optatos  semper  amica  sonos. 

Non  legis  iussu  lectum  venistis  in  unum  : 

Fungitur  in  vobis  munere  legis  amor. 
Blanditias  molles  auremque  iuvantia  verba 
Adfer,  ut  adventu  laeta  sit  illa  tuo. 

Non  ego  divitibus  venio  praeceptor  amandi : 

Nil  opus  est  illi,  qui  dabit,  arte  mea ; 

Secum  habet  ingenium,  qui,  cum  libet,  “  accipe  ’ 
Cedimus  :  inventis  plus  placet  ille  meis. 
Pauperibus  vates  ego  sum,  quia  pauper  amavi ; 

Cum  dare  non  possem  munera,  verba  dabam. 
Pauper  amet  caute  :  timeat  maledicere  pauper  : 

Multaque  divitibus  non  patienda  ferat. 

Me  memini  iratum  dominae  turbasse  capillos  ; 

Haec  mihi  quam  multos  abstulit  ira  dies  ! 

Nec  puto,  nec  sensi  tunicam  laniasse  ;  sed  ipsa 
Dixerat,  et  pretio  est  illa  redempta  meo. 

76 


145 

150 

155 

100 

dicit  ; 
105 

170 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


Come  then,  trust  but  timidly,  whoever  you  are,  to 
treacherous  beauty ;  or  possess  something  Avorth 
more  than  outward  shape.  Chief  above  all  does 
tactful  indulgence  win  the  mind ;  harshness  and 
angry  words  cause  hatred.  We  hate  the  hawk 
because  he  ever  lives  in  arms,  and  the  wolves  that 
are  wont  to  go  against  the  timorous  flock.  But  the 
swallow  is  free  from  men’s  attack  because  he  is 
gentle,  and  the  Chaonian  bird^  has  towers  he  may 
inhabit.  Keep  far  away,  quarrels  and  bitter-tongued 
affrays ;  with  soft  Avords  must  love  be  fostered. 
With  quarrels  let  wives  pursue  husbands  and  hus¬ 
bands  wives,  and  deem  that  they  are  ever  at  issue  with 
each  other  ;  this  befits  Avives  ;  the  dowry  of  a  wife  is 
quarrelling :  but  let  your  mistress  ever  hear  Avelcome 
sounds.  Not  by  the  law’s  command  have  you  come 
into  one  bed ;  for  you  love  performs  the  work  of 
law.  Bring  soft  blandishments  and  words  that 
soothe  the  ear,  that  your  coming  may  make  her  glad. 

I  come  not  to  teach  the  rich  to  love ;  he  who  will 
give  has  no  need  of  my  art ;  he  who  when  he  pleases 
says  “Accept”  has  wit  enough  of  his  own;  I  give 
place  :  my  devices  A\dll  not  please  so  much  as  he.  I 
am  the  poet  of  the  poor,  because  I  was  poor  when 
I  loved ;  since  I  could  not  give  gifts,  I  gave  words. 
Let  the  poor  man  love  with  caution;  let  the  poor- 
man  fear  to  speak  harshly ;  let  him  bear  much  that 
the  rich  would  not  endure.  I  remember  how  once 
in  anger  I  disarranged  my  lady’s  hair ;  of  how  many 
days  did  that  anger  rob  me !  I  do  not  think  nor 
did  I  notice  that  I  tore  her  vest ;  but  she  said  so, 
and  it  was  paid  for  at  my  expense.  But  do  you,  if 

1  The  dove,  from  the  doves  that  revealed  the  future  in 
the  oaks  of  Dodona  in  Chaonia. 


77 


OVID 


At  voSj  si  sapitisj  vestri  peccata  magistri 
Effugite^  et  culpae  damna  timete  meae. 

Proelia  cum  Parthis,  cum  culta  pax  sit  amica, 

Et  iocus,  et  causas  quicquid  amoris  habet. 

Si  nec  blanda  satis,  nec  erit  tibi  comis  amanti. 
Perfer  et  obdura  :  postmodo  mitis  erit. 
Flectitur  obsequio  curvatus  ab  arbore  ramus  : 

Frangis,  si  vires  experiere  tuas. 

Obsequio  tranantur  aquae  :  nec  vincere  possis 
Flumina,  si  contra,  quam  rapit  unda,  nates. 
Obsequium  tigresque  domat  Numidasque  leones  ; 

Rustica  paulatim  taurus  aratra  subit. 

Quid  fuit  asperius  Nonacrina  Atalanta  ? 

Succubuit  meritis  trux  tamen  illa  viri. 

Saepe  suos  casus  nec  mitia  facta  puellae 
Flesse  sub  arboribus  Milaniona  ferunt  ; 

Saepe  tulit  iusso  fallacia  retia  collo. 

Saepe  fera  torvos  cuspide  fixit  apros  : 

Sensit  et  Hylaei  contentum  saucius  arcum : 

Sed  tamen  hoc  arcu  notior  alter  erat. 

Non  te  Maenalias  armatum  scandere  silvas. 

Nec  iubeo  collo  retia  ferre  tuo  : 

Pectora  nec  missis  iubeo  praebere  sagittis  ; 

Artis  erunt  cautae  mollia  iussa  meae. 

Cede  repugnanti :  cedendo  vietor  abibis  : 

Fac  modo,  quas  partes  illa  iubebit,  agas. 

Arguet,  arguito  ;  quicquid  probat  illa,  probato  ; 

Quod  dicet,  dicas  ;  quod  negat  illa,  neges. 
Riserit,  adride  ;  si  flebit,  flere  memento  ; 

Imponat  leges  vultibus  illa  tuis. 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


you  are  wise,  avoid  your  master’s  errors,  and  fear 
the  loss  my  fault  incurred.  Battle  with  Parthians, 
but  with  a  cultured  mistress  have  peace  and  mirth 
and  whatever  is  the  cause  of  love. 

Should  she  be  neither  kindly  nor  courteous  to 
your  wooing,  persist  and  steel  your  resolve  ;  one  day 
she  will  be  kind.  By  compliance  is  the  curved 
bough  bent  away  from  the  tree ;  you  will  break  it  if 
you  try  your  strength.  By  compliance  are  waters 
swum ;  nor  can  you  conquer  rivers  if  you  swim 
against  the  current’s  flow.  Compliance  tames  tigers 
and  Numidian  lions ;  little  by  little  the  bull  submits 
to  the  rustic  plough.  What  could  be  more  stern 
than  Nonacrian  Atalanta?  yet  stubborn  as  she  was 
she  yielded  to  a  hero’s  prowess.  Often,  they  say, 
beneath  the  trees  Milanion  bewailed  his  lot  and  the 
maiden’s  cruelty ;  often  did  he  bear  the  crafty  nets 
on  his  obedient  neck,  often  with  ruthless  spear  trans¬ 
fixed  the  grisly  boars  ;  from  the  bow  too  that  Hylaeus 
strung  did  he  feel  the  wound — and  yet  another  bow  ^ 
was  still  more  known  than  this.  I  do  not  bid  you 
arm  and  climb  the  forests  of  Maenalus,  nor  carry 
nets  upon  your  neck ;  nor  do  I  bid  you  offer  your 
breast  to  flying  arrows  ;  easy  will  be  the  precepts  of 
my  cautious  art.  Y ield  if  she  resists ;  by  yielding 
you  will  depart  the  victor ;  only  play  the  part  she 
bids  you  play.  Blame  if  she  blames  ;  approve  what¬ 
ever  she  approves.  Affirm  what  she  affirms  and 
deny  what  she  denies.  If  she  laughs,  laugh  with 
her;  if  she  weeps,  remember  to  weep;  let  her 
impose  her  laws  upon  your  countenance.  If  she  be 

^  The  bow  of  Hylaeus  (a  Centaur  who  made  an  attempt 
upon  Atalanta)  marked  the  extreme  point  of  Milanion’s 
endurance  on  her  behalf  :  yet  Cupid’s  bow  (1.  192)  was  even 
more  effective  in  making  her  love  him. 


79 


OVID 


Seu  ludet,  numerosque  manu  lactabit  eburnos, 

Tu  male  lactato,  tu  male  lacta  dato  : 

Seu  lacies  talos,  victam  ne  poena  sequatur. 
Damnosi  facito  stent  tibi  saepe  canes  : 

Sive  latrocinii  sub  imagine  calculus  ibit. 

Fac  pereat  vitreo  miles  ab  hoste  tuus. 

Ipse  tene  distenta  suis  umbracula  virgis, 

Ipse  fac  in  turba,  qua  venit  illa,  locum. 

Nec  dubita  tereti  scamnum  producere  lecto. 

Et  tenero  soleam  deme  vel  adde  pedi. 

Saepe  etiam  dominae,  quamvis  horrebis  et  ipse. 
Algenti  manus  est  calfacienda  sinu. 

Nec  tibi  turpe  puta  (quamvis  sit  turpe,  placebit). 
Ingenua  speculum  sustinuisse  manu. 

Ille,  fatigata  praebendo  monstra  noverca 
Qui  meruit  caelum,  quod  prior  ipse  tulit. 

Inter  Ioniacas  calathum  tenuisse  puellas 
Creditur,  et  lanas  excoluisse  rudes. 

Paruit  imperio  dominae  Tirynthius  heros  : 

I  nunc  et  dubita  ferre,  quod  ille  tulit, 
lussus  adesse  foro,  iussa  maturius  hora 
Fac  semper  venias,  nec  nisi  serus  abi. 

Occurras  aliquo,  tibi  dixerit,  omnia  differ. 

Curre,  nec  inceptum  turba  moretur  iter. 

Nocte  domum  repetens  epulis  perfuncta  redibit ; 

Tunc  quoque  pro  servo,  si  vocat  illa,  veni. 

Rure  erit,  et  dicet  “  venias  ”  :  Amor  odit  inertes  ; 
Si  rota  defuerit,  tu  pede  carpe  viam. 


205 


210 


216 


220 


225 


230 


217  fatigata  .  .  .  noverca  Madvig:  -ae  .  .  .  -ae  3ISS.:  prae¬ 
bendo  E ;  perdendo  MSS. 


1  “numeri”  could  be  used  either  in  the  sense  of  “tali,”  the 
large  dice  marked  on  four  sides,  or  of  “tesserae,”  the  smaller 
ones,  marked  on  six  sides.  As  “dare”  can  mean  to  move  a 
piece,  the  first  couplet  may  refer  to  a  game  where  pieces  were 

8o 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


framing,  and  throwing  witli  lier  hand  the  ivory  dice/ 
do  you  tlirow  amiss  and  move  your  throws  amiss; 
or  if  it  is  the  large  dice  you  are  throwings  let  no 
forfeit  follow  if  she  lose ;  see  that  the  ruinous  dogs 
often  fall  to  you  ;  or  if  the  piece  be  marching  under 
the  semblance  of  a  robbers’  band,  let  your  warrior 
fall  before  his  glassy  foe.  Do  you  yourself  hold  her 
parasol  outstretched  upon  its  rods,  yourself  make 
room  for  her  in  the  crowd,  where  she  is  coming. 
Nor  hesitate  to  place  the  footstool  for  her  trim 
couch  ;  take  off  her  slipper  from  her  dainty  foot,  or 
put  it  on.  Often  too  when  she  is  cold,  though  you 
are  shivering  too,  you  must  warm  your  lady’s  hand 
in  your  own  lap.  Nor  think  it  base  (though  base,  it 
will  give  jjleasure)  to  hold  a  mirror  in  your  freeborn 
hand.  He  who  won  the  heaven  which  first  he  bore 
himself,  when  his  step-mother  was  wearied  of  sending 
monsters,  is  believed  to  have  held  a  basket  among 
Ionian  maidens,  and  to  have  spun  fine  the  unworked 
wool.  The  Tirynthian  hero  obeyed  a  mistress’ 
command :  go,  shrink  from  enduring  what  he  en¬ 
dured  !  Bidden  meet  her  at  the  Forum,  go  earlier 
than  the  hour  of  bidding,  nor  leave  till  it  be  late. 
She  has  told  j'ou  to  join  her  somewhere :  put  off 
everything,  run !  let  not  the  crowd  delay  your 
passage.  At  night  she  will  return  to  her  house,  the 
banquet  finished  :  then  too  come  in  the  slave’s  stead, 
if  she  calls.  You  are  in  the  country,  and  she  says 
“Come!”  Love ‘hates  the  sluggish:  if  wheels  fail,  ’ 
make  the  journey  on  foot.  Let  neither  the  fatal 

moved  as  well  as  dice  thrown,  and  the  second  to  throwing 
merel3^  The  third  couplet  refers  to  the  game  of  “  robbers,” 
the  “ludus  latrunculorum,”  which  seems  to  have  taken 
different  forms.  “  Canes,”  the  name  given  to  a  bad  throw, 
the  opposite  being  called  “  Venus,”  as  in  Prop.  4.  8.  45. 


8i 


OVID 


Nec  gi-ave  te  tempus  sitiensque  Canicula  tardet, 

Nec  via  per  iactas  candida  facta  nives. 

Militiae  species  amor  est ;  discedite,  segnes  : 

Non  sunt  haec  timidis  signa  tuenda  viris. 

Nox  et  hiems  longaeque  viae  saevique  dolores  235 

Mollibus  his  castris  et  labor  omnis  inest. 

Saepe  feres  imbrem  caelesti  nube  solutum. 

Frigidus  et  nuda  saepe  iacebis  humo. 

Cynthius  Admeti  vaccas  pavisse  Pheraei 

Fertur,  et  in  parva  delituisse  casa.  240 

Quod  Phoebum  decuit,  quem  non  decet  ?  exue  fastus, 
Curam  mansuri  quisquis  amoris  habes. 

Si  tibi  per  tutum  planumque  negabitur  ire. 

Atque  erit  opposita  ianua  fulta  sera. 

At  tu  per  praeceps  tecto  delabere  aperto  :  245 

Det  quoque  furtivas  alta  fenestra  vias. 

Laeta  erit,  et  causam  tibi  se  sciet  esse  pericli ; 

Hoc  dominae  certi  pignus  amoris  erit. 

Saepe  tua  poteras,  Leandre,  carere  puella  : 

Transnabas,  animum  nosset  ut  illa  tuum.  250 

Nec  pudor  ancillas,  ut  quaeque  erit  ordine  prima. 

Nec  tibi  sit  servos  demeruisse  pudor. 

Nomine  quemque  suo  (nulla  est  iactura)  saluta. 

Iunge  tuis  humiles,  ambitiose,  manus. 

Sed  tamen  et  servo  (levis  est  inpensa)  roganti  255 

Porrige  Fortunae  munera  parva  die  : 

Porrige  et  ancillae,  qua  poenas  luce  pependit 
Lusa  maritali  Gallica  veste  manus. 

1  This  would  be  the  skylight  in  the  roof  of  the  “atrium,” 
usually  called  the  “compluvium.” 

2  The  day,  .July  7th,  was  called  by  the  Romans  Nonas 
Caprotinae,  and  on  it  women  sacrificed  to  Juno  Caprotina 
(“sub  caprifico,”  under  a  wild  fig  tree)  in  memory  of  the 

82 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


heat  and  the  thirsty  Dogstar  delay  you,  nor  a  road 
made  white  by  fallen  snow. 

Love  is  a  kind  of  warfare ;  avaunt^  ye  laggards ! 
these  banners  are  not  for  timid  men  to  guard. 
Night,  storm,  long  journeys,  cruel  pains,  all  kinds 
of  toil  are  in  this  dainty  camp.  Oft  will  you  put  up 
with  rain  from  melting  clouds  of  heaven,  and  oft 
will  you  lie  cold  on  the  bare  ground.  The  Cynthian 
is  sard  to  have  pastured  the  kine  of  Admetus  king  of 
Pherae,  and  to  have  made  a  humble  cot  his  lodging. 
Whom  does  that  not  become  which  became  Phoebus? 
put  off  your  pride,  whoever  you  are  that  care  for  an 
enduring  love.  If  it  is  denied  yog  to  go  by  a  safe 
and  easy  road,  and  if  the  door  be  held  by  a  fastened 
bolt,  yet  slip  down  headlong  through  an  opening  in 
the  roof ;  ^  or  let  a  high  window  afford  a  secret  path. 
She  will  rejoice,  and  know  herself  the  cause  of  peril 
to  you ;  this  will  be  a  pledge  of  your  lady’s  sure 
affection.  Oft  was  it  in  your  power,  Leander,  to  be 
absent  from  your  mistress  :  you  swam  across  that 
she  might  know  your  passion. 

Blush  not  to  win  over  handmaidens,  as  each  stands 
first  in  rank,  nor  blush  to  win  over  slaves.  Salute 
each  one  by  name  :  you  lose  nothing  thereby  ;  clasp 
low-born  hands,  ambitious  one,  in  yours.  Ay,  even 
to  a  slave,  should  he  ask  you  (the  cost  is  trivial), 
offer  some  small  gift  on  the  day  of  Fortune ;  offer  it 
to  a  handmaid  also,  on  the  day  that  the  Gallic  band 
paid  penalty,  tricked  by  the  maiTiage-i'obe.^  Believe 

handmaidens  who  were  given  up  to  the  Gauls  in  place  of  and 
disguised  as  the  Roman  matrons  and  virgins  whom  they  • 
demanded.  According  to  Plutarch  {Romidus  29,  Camillus 
33)  it  was  not  Gauls  but  Latins  on  whom  the  trick  was 
played.  The  handmaidens  signalled  to  the  Romans  from  a 
fig  tree,  and  they  thereupon  fell  on  the  enemy. 


83 


OVID 


Fac  plebem,  mihi  crede,  tuam ;  sit  semper  in  illa 

lanitor  et  thalami  qui  iacet  ante  fores.  260 

Nec  dominam  iubeo  pretioso  munere  dones  : 

Parva,  sed  e  parvis  callidus  apta  dato. 

Dum  bene  dives  ager,  dum  rami  pondere  nutant, 
Adferat  in  calatho  rustica  dona  puer. 

Rure  suburbano  jjoteris  tibi  dicere  missa,  265 

Illa  vel  in  Sacra  sint  licet  emiita  via. 

Adferat  aut  uvas,  aut  quas  Amaryllis  amabat — 

At  nunc  castaneas  non  amat  illa  nuces. 

Quin  etiam  turdoque  licet  missaque  columba 

Te  memorem  dominae  testificere  tuae.  270 

Turpiter  his  emitur  spes  mortis  et  orba  senectus. 

A,  pereant,  per  quos  munera  crimen  habent ! 

Quid  tibi  praecipiam  teneros  quoque  mittere  versus  ? 

Ei  mihi,  non  multum  carmen  honoris  habet. 

Carmina  laudantur,  sed  munera  magna  petuntur  :  275 

Dummodo  sit  dives,  barbarus  ipse  placet. 

►-'Aurea  sunt  vere  nunc  saecula  :  plurimus  auro 
Venit  honos  :  auro  conciliatur  amor. 

Ipse  licet  venias  Musis  comitatus,  Homere, 

Si  nihil  attuleris,  ibis,  Homere,  foras.  280 

Sunt  tamen  et  doctae,  rarissima  turba,  puellae 
Altera  non  doctae  turba,  sed  esse  volunt. 

Utraque  laudetur  per  carmina  :  carmina  lector 
Commendet  dulci  qualiacumque  sono  ; 

His  ergo  aut  illis  vigilatum  carmen  in  ipsas  285 

Forsitan  exigui  munei’is  instar  erit. 

269  columba  i¥(SS :  corona  E. 


^  Cf.  Amores,  1.  11,  2.  2,  2.  8,  etc. 

^  Because  she  has  more  extravagant  tastes  nowadays.  The 

84 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


me,  make  the  humble  folk  your  own ;  let  the  gate¬ 
keeper  ever  be  one  of  them,  and  him  who  lies  be¬ 
fore  her  chamber-door.i  Nor  do  I  bid  you  givcv^ 
your  mistress  costly  gifts:  let  them  be  small, Ibut 
choose  your  small  gifts  cunningly  and  well.  While 
lands  are  fertile,  while  your  branches  droop  with 
their  burden,  let  a  slave  bring  rustic  tributes  in  a 
basket.  You  can  say  they  were  sent  to  you  from 
your  suburban  property,  though  you  bought  them  in 
the  Sacred  Way.  Let  him  bring  either  grapes  or 
the  nuts  ^^that  Amaryllis  loved  ’ — but  chestnuts  she 
loves  not  now.^  Nay  too  by  sending  a  thrush  or  a 
pigeon  3  you  may  witness  that  you  are  mindful  of 
your  lady.  Dishonourable  is  it  when  such  gifts 
produce  the  hope  of  death  and  a  childless  old  age  ; 
ah,  perish  they  by  whom  gifts  bear  reproach  ! 

Shall  I  bid  you  send  tender  verses  also  ?  Alas,  a 
poem  is  not  much  honoured.  Poems  are  praised, 
but  costly  gifts  are  sought;  so  he  be  wealthy,  even 
a  barbarian  pleases.  Now  truly  is  the  age  of  gold  : 
by  gold  comes  many  an  honour,  by  gold  is  affection 
gained.  Though  you  come,  Homer,  and  all  the 
Muses  with  you,  if  you  bring  nothing,  Homer,  out 
you  go  !  Yet  there  are  learned  women  too,  a  scanty 
number ;  and  others  are  not  learned,  but  wish  to  be 
so.  Let  either  sort  be  praised  in  poems  ;  his  verses, 
whate’er  their  quality,  let  the  reader  commend  by 
the  charm  of  his  recital ;  and  thus  to  learned  and 
unleai’ned  the  poem  fashioned  in  their  praise  will 
perchance  seem  like  a  little  gift. 

reference  is  to  Virg.  Ed.  2.  52:  “Castaneasque  nuces  mea 
quas  Amaryllis  amabat.” 

^  Birds  were  frequently  used  as  pets  :  thrushes  were  also  a 
delicacy. 


85 


OVID 


At  quod  eris  per  te  facturus,  et  utile  credis. 

Id  tua  te  focito  semper  arnica  roget. 

Libertes  alicui  fuerit  promissa  tuorum  : 

Hanc  tamen  a  domina  fac  petat  ille  tua :  290 

Si  poenam  servo,  si  vincula  saeva  remittis. 

Quod  facturus  eras,  debeat  illa  tibi : 

Utilitas  tua  sit,  titulus  donetur  amicae  ; 

Perde  nihil,  partes  illa  potentis  agat. 

Sed  te,  cuicumque  est  retinendae  cura  puellae,  295 
Attonitum  forma  fac  putet  esse  sua. 

Sive  erit  in  Tyriis,  T3n-ios  laudabis  amictus : 

Sive  erit  in  Cois,  Coa  decere  puta. 

Aurata  est  ?  ipso  tibi  sit  pretiosior  auro  ; 

Gausapa  si  sumpsit,  gausapa  sumpta  proba.  300 

Astiterit  tunicata,  “  moves  incendia  clama. 

Sed  timida,  caveat  frigora,  voce  roga. 

Conpositum  discrimen  erit,  discrimina  lauda  ; 

Torserit  igne  comam,  torte  capille,  place. 

Brachia  saltantis,  vocem  mirare  canentis,  305 

Et,  quod  desierit,  verba  querentis  habe. 

Ipsos  concubitus,  ipsum  venerere  licebit 
Quod  iuvat,  et  laudi  gaudia  noctis  habe. 

Ut  fuerit  torva  violentior  illa  Medusa, 

Fiet  amatori  lenis  et  aequa  suo.  310 

Tantum,  ne  pateas  verbis  simulator  in  illis. 

Effice,  nec  vultu  destrue  dicta  tuo. 

Si  latet  ars,  prodest :  adfert  deprensa  pudorem. 

Atque  adimit  merito  tempus  in  omne  fidem. 

Saepe  sub  autumnum,  cum  formosissimus  annus,  315 
Plenaque  purpureo  subrubet  uva  mero. 

Cum  modo  frigoribus  premitur,  modo  solvitur  aestu. 
Aere  non  certo,  corpora  languor  habet. 

308  laudi  Housman :  quaedam  R  :  praedam  Merkel. 


86 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


But  what  you  are  going  to  do  of  yourself  and 
deem  to  be  useful^  see  that  your  mistress  always 
begs  you  do.  One  of  your  slaves  has  been  promised 
his  liberty ;  see  that  he  asks  it  nevertheless  from 
your  mistress  :  if  you  release  a  slave  from  punishment 
or  cruel  chains^  make  her  your  debtor  for  what  you 
were  about  to  do ;  be  yours  the  gain  ;  make  your 
mistress  a  present  of  the  glory :  waste  nothing ;  let 
her  play  the  powerful  lady.  But  whoever  you  are  who 
are  anxious  to  keep  your  mistress,  be  sure  she  thinks 
you  spellbound  by  her  beauty.  If  she  be  in  Tyrian 
attire,  then  praise  her  Tyrian  gown;  or  in  Coan, 
then  find  the  Coan  style  becoming.  Is  her  raiment 
golden  ?  let  her  be  to  you  more  precious  than  gold 
itself;  if  she  wear  woollens,  then  approve  the  woollens 
that  she  wears.  Should  she  stand  by  you  in  her  shift, 
cry  “You  inflame  me!”  but  with  timid  voice  beg 
her  to  mind  the  cold.  Has  she  arranged  her  parting? 
praise  it.  Has  she  curled  her  hair  with  the  irons  ? 
curled  tress,  find  favour.  Admire  her  arms  as  she 
dances,  her  voice  as  she  sings;  and  find  words  of 
complaint  that  she  has  stopped.  Your  actual  union 
and  moment  of  bliss  you  may  adore,  and  praise  the 
pleasures  of  the  night.  Though  she  be  more  violent 
than  gi’im  Medusa,  she  will  be  mild  and  gentle  to 
her  lover.  Only  while  so  talking  take  care  not  to 
show  you  are  feigning,  nor  let  your  looks  undo  your 
words.  Art,  if  hidden,  avails ;  if  detected,  it  brings 
shame,  and  deservedly  discredits  you  for  ever. 

Often  in  autumn,  when  the  season  is  most  fair, 
and  the  grape  begins  to  blush  with  the  purple  wine, 
when  at  one  time  we  are  stiffened  with  cold,  at 
another  melted  with  heat,  then  in  the  uncertain  air 
a  languor  holds  the  body.  May  she  indeed  keep 

87 


OVID 


Illa  quidem  valeat ;  sed  si  male  firma  cubabit, 

Et  vitium  caeli  senserit  aegra  sui,  320 

Tunc  amor  et  pietas  tua  sit  manifesta  puellae. 

Tum  sere,  quod  plena  postmodo  falce  metas. 

Nec  tibi  morosi  veniant  fastidia  morbi, 

Perque  tuas  fiant  quae  sinet  ipsa,  manus. 

Et  videat  flentem,  nec  taedeat  oscula  ferre,  325 

Et  sicco  lacrimas  conbibat  ore  tuas. 

Multa  vove,  sed  cuncta  palam  ;  quotiesque  libebit. 

Quae  referas  illi,  somnia  laeta  vide. 

Pit  veniat,  quae  lustret  anus  lectumque  locumque. 
Praeferat  et  tremula  sulpur  et  ova  manu.  330 

Omnibus  his  inerunt  gratae  vestigia  curae  : 

In  tabulas  multis  haec  via  fecit  iter. 

Nec  tamen  officiis  odium  quaeratur  ab  aegra  : 

Sit  suus  in  blanda  sedulitate  modus  ; 

Neve  cibo  pi’ohibe,  nec  amari  pocula  suci  335 

Porrige  :  rivalis  misceat  illa  tuus. 

Sed  non  quo  dederas  a  litore  carbasa  vento. 

Utendum,  medio  cum  potiere  freto. 

Dum  novus  errat  amor,  vires  sibi  colligat  usu  : 

Si  bene  nutrieris,  tempore  firmus  erit.  340 

Quem  taurum  metuis,  vitulum  mulcere  solebas  : 

Sub  qua  nunc  recubas  arbore,  virga  fuit: 

Nascitur  exiguus,  sed  opes  adquirit  eundo. 

Quaque  venit,  multas  accipit  amnis  aquas. 

Fac  tibi  consuescat :  nil  adsuetudine  maius  :  345 

Quam  tu  dum  capias,  taedia  nulla  fuge. 

Te  semper  videat,  tibi  semper  praebeat  aures  ; 

Exhibeat  vultus  noxque  diesque  tuos. 


Eggs  anci  sulphur  are  frec|uently  referred  to,  as  means  of 
purification  in  sickness,  in  cases  of  unrec|uited  love,  in  the 

88 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


her  health  !  but  should  she  ailj  and  in  sickness  suffer 
from  the  inclement  sky,  then  let  your  love  and 
affection  be  manifest  to  the  girl,  then  sow  what 
afterwards  you  may  reap  with  a  full  sickle.  Nor 
let  impatience  with  fretful  sickness  come  upon  you ; 
let  yours  be  the  hands  that  do  what  she  will  allow. 
And  let  her  see  you  weeping,  and  be  not  weary  of 
giving  her  kisses ;  let  her  drink  your  tears  with 
parched  mouth.  Make  many  vows,  and  all  aloud  ; 
and  whenever  you  wish,  have  joyful  dreams  to  tell 
her.  And  let  an  old  woman  come  to  purify  her 
bed  and  chamber,  and  to  bring  sulphur  ^  and  eggs 
with  trembling  hand.  All  this  will  show  signs  of 
willing  care ;  this  path  has  led  many  to  a  legacy. 
Yet  incur  not  by  your  services  the  displeasure  of 
the  sick  one ;  flattering  zeal  in  service  should 
keep  its  proper  limits :  debar  her  not  from  food, 
nor  offer  cups  of  bitter  juices ;  them  let  your  rival 
mingle. 

But  the  wind  to  which  you  spread  your  sails  when 
leaving  the  shore  should  not  be  used  when  once 
you  have  won  the  open  sea.  While  love  wanders  in 
its  youth  let  it  gather  strength  by  experience ;  so 
but  you  nurture  it  well,  in  time  it  will  be  strong. 
The  bull  you  fear,  you  were  wont  to  stroke  as  a  calf ; 
the  tree  under  which  you  lie  was  once  a  sapling :  a 
river  at  birth  is  small,  but  acquires  force  by  flowing  ; 
wherever  it  fares,  it  receives  many  waters.  See  that 
she  grows  used  to  you  :  than  use  and  wont  naught  is 
mightier  :  till  you  secure  that,  shun  no  weariness.  Let 
her  be  always  seeing  you,  always  giving  you  her  ear  ; 
let  night  and  day  show  her  your  features.  When  you 

worship  of  Isis ;  cf.  also  Juv.  6.  518  for  their  use  in  September, 
and  Ov.  Fast.  4.  739,  at  the  Parilia. 


89 


OVID 


Cum  tibi  maior  erit  fiducia^  posse  requiri, 

Cum  procul  absenti  cura  futurus  eris,  350 

Da  requiem  :  requietus  ager  bene  credita  reddit. 
Terraque  caelestes  arida  sorbet  aquas. 

Phyllida  Demoplioon  praesens  moderatius  ussit : 

Exarsit  velis  acrius  illa  datis. 

Penelopen  absens  sollers  torquebat  Ulixes  ;  355 

Phylacides  aberat,  Laodamia,  tuus. 

Sed  mora  tuta  brevis  :  lentescunt  tempore  curae, 
Vanescitque  absens  et  novus  intrat  amor. 

Dum  Menelaus  abest,  Helene,  ne  sola  iaceret. 

Hospitis  est  tepido  nocte  recepta  sinu.  360 

Qui  stupor  hic,  Menelae,  fuit?  tu  solus  abibas. 

Isdem  sub  tectis  hospes  et  uxor  erant  ? 

Accipitri  timidas  credis,  furiose,  columbas  ? 

Plenum  montano  credis  ovile  lupo  ? 

Nil  Helene  peccat,  nihil  hic  committit  adulter  :  365 

Quod  tu,  quod  faceret  quilibet,  ille  facit. 

Cogis  adulterium  dando  tempusque  locumque  ; 

Quid  nisi  consilio  est  usa  puella  tuo  ? 

Quid  faciat  ?  vir  abest,  et  adest  non  rusticus  hospes. 

Et  timet  in  vacuo  sola  cubare  toro.  370 

Viderit  Atrides  :  Helenen  ego  crimine  solvo  : 

Usa  est  humani  commoditate  viri. 

Sed  neque  fulvus  aper  media  tam  saevus  in  ira  est, 

F ulmineo  rabidos  cum  rotat  ore  canes. 

Nec  lea,  cum  catulis  lactantibus  ubera  praebet,  375 
Nec  brevis  ignaro  vipera  laesa  pede, 

Femina  quam  socii  deprensa  paelice  lecti 
Ardet,  et  in  vultu  pignora  mentis  habet. 

90 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


are  quite  confident  that  you  can  be  missed,  when  your 
absence  is  likely  to  be  regretted,  suffer  her  to  rest : 
a  field  that  is  rested  well  repays  its  trust,  and  a  dry 
soil  drinks  up  heaven’s  rain.  Demophoon’s  presence 
fired  in  Phyllis  but  a  moderate  flame  :  when  his  sails 
were  set  she  burned  more  fiercely.  In  the  absence 
of  crafty  Ulysses  was  Penelope  racked ;  absent  too, 
Laodamia,  was  thy  Phyllacides.  But  a  short  so¬ 
journing  is  safest :  affection  wanes  with  lapse  of 
time :  an  absent  love  vanishes,  and  a  new  one 
takes  its  place.  While  Menelaus  was  away,  Helen, 
that  she  should  not  lie  alone,  was  welcomed  at  night 
by  the  warm  bosom  of  her  guest.  What  folly  was 
this,  Menelaus  ?  you  went  away  alone  ;  your  wife 
and  her  guest  were  beneath  the  selfsame  roof. 
Madman,  do  you  trust  timid  doves  to  a  hawk  ?  do 
you  trust  a  full  sheepfold  to  a  mountain  wolf.?  In 
naught  does  Helen  sin;  in  naught  is  that  adulterer 
to  blame  ;  he  does  what  you,  what  anyone  would 
have  done.  By  giving  time  and  place  you  are 
compelling  adultery  ;  the  woman  has  but  used  your 
own  counsel.  What  could  she  do?  her  husband  is 
away ;  a  guest,  and  no  rustic  one,  is  present ;  and 
she  fears  to  sleep  in  an  empty  bed  alone.  Let  the 
son  of  Atreus  see  to  it;  Helen  I  absolve  from 
blame ;  she  used  the  opportunity  a  courteous  lover 
gave. 

But  neither  is  the  red  boar  so  savage  at  his  fury’s 
height,  when  with  lightning  jaw  he  o’erturns  the 
raging  hounds,  nor  the  lioness  when  she  is  giving 
the  udder  to  her  unweaned  cubs,  nor  the  tiny  adder 
hurt  by  a  careless  foot,  as  is  a  woman  set  aflame 
when  a  rival  is  taken  in  the  bed  she  shares  ;  on  her 
face  she  bears  the  tokens  of  her  feelings.  She  rushes 

91 


OVID 


In  ferrum  flammasque  ruit^  positoque  decore 

Fertur,  ut  Aonii  cornibus  icta  dei.  380 

Coniugis  admissum  violataque  iura  marita  est 
Harbara  per  natos  Phasias  ulta  suos. 

Altera  dira  parens  haec  est,  quam  cernis,  hirundo  : 

Aspice,  signatum  sanguine  pectus  habet. 

Hoc  bene  compositos,  hoc  firmos  solvit  amores  ;  385 

Crimina  sunt  cautis  ista  timenda  viris. 

Nec  mea  vos  uni  damnat  censura  puellae  : 

Di  melius  !  vix  hoc  nupta  tenere  potest. 

Ludite,  sed  furto  celetur  culpa  modesto  : 

Gloria  peccati  nulla  petenda  sui  est.  300 

Nec  dederis  munus,  cognosse  quod  altera  possit. 

Nec  ,sint  nequitiae  tempora  certa  tuae. 

Et,  ne  te  capiat  latebris  sibi  femina  notis. 

Non  uno  est  omnis  convenienda  loco  ; 

Et  quotiens  scribes,  totas  prius  ipse  tabellas  395 

Inspice  :  plus  multae,  quam  sibi  missa,  legunt. 

Laesa  Venus  iusta  arma  movet,  telumque  remittit. 

Et,  modo  quod  questa  est,  ipse  querare,  facit. 

Dum  fuit  Atrides  una  contentus,  et  illa 

Casta  fuit  :  vitio  est  improba  facta  viri.  400 

Audierat  laurumque  manu  vittasque  ferentem 
Pro  nata  Chrysen  non  valuisse  sua  : 

Audierat,  Lyrnesi,  tuos,  abducta,  dolores. 

Bellaque  per  turpis  longius  isse  moras. 

381  marita  est  ii :  maintae 


1  i.e.  the  Bacchie  frenzj',  Bacchus  being  commonly  represented 
with  horns  ;  Aonian,  i.e.  Boeotian,  from  the  close  connection  of 
Bacchus  with  Thebes. 

2  The  references  are  to  Medea  of  Phasis,  the  river  of  Colchis 
and  to  Procne,  daughter  of  Pandion,  and  wife  of  Tereus ;  both 
took  vengeance  (by  slaying  their  offspring)  on  the  unfaithfulness 
ot  their  husbands.  Procne  was  turned  into  a  swallow. 

92 


ART  OF  LOVE;  II 


to  seize  fire  and  steel  and,  her  modesty  flung  aside, 
rages  as  though  struck  by  the  horns  of  the  Aonian 
godA  The  barbarous  Phasian  by  means  of  her  own 
children  avenged  the  crime  of  her  spouse  and  wed¬ 
lock’s  broken  law.  Another  terrible  parent  is  this 
swallow  that  you  behold :  look,  her  breast  is  stained 
with  blood. ^  This  it  is  loosens  loves  that  are  well 
compact  and  strong ;  these  are  sins  to  be  feared  by 
cautious  husbands.  Yet  my  ruling  does  not  condemn 
you  to  one  woman  alone  :  heaven  forfend !  even  a 
young  bride  can  hardly  secure  this.  Have  your 
sport,  but  let  modest  deception  veil  the  fault ;  seek 
no  vainglory  from  your  sin.  Give  no  gift  whereof 
the  other  might  learn,  and  have  no  fixed  seasons  for 
your  wantonness.  And  lest  the  lady  catch  you  in 
some  well-known  retreat,  meet  not  every  mistress  in 
one  spot;  and  whenever  you  write,  examine  the  whole 
letter  first  yourself;  many  read  more  than  the  message 
sent  to  them.®  Venus  when  injured  wages  righteous 
war,  and  flings  the  weapon  back  ;  and  she  makes  you 
complain  youi’self  of  what  she  complained  of  but  now. 
While  Atrides  was  content  with  one,  she  was  chaste 
also ;  she  was  made  wicked  by  her  husband’s  sin. 
She  had  heard  that  Chryses,  wearing  the  fillets  and 
with  laurel  in  his  hand,  had  not  availed  for  his 
daughter ;  she  had  heard  of  thy  sorrows,  stolen 
Lyrnesian  maid,^  and  how  shameful  tarrying  had 

®  She  may  see  traces  in  the  wax  of  a  former  love-letter, 
cf.  iii.  496. 

*  Agamemnon  refused  to  give  up  Chryseis,  daughter  of 
Chryses,  until  a  plague  was  sent  on  the  Greek  army  ;  he 
then  took  away  Briseis,  whom  Achilles  had  taken  as  spoil 
from  Lyrnesos  ;  this  made  Achilles  withdraw  from  the  fight¬ 
ing.  Agamemnon  also  took  Cassandra,  Priam’s  daughter,  as 
part  of  the  spoil  of  Troy.  Clytemnestra  took  revenge  by 
plotting  his  death  with  her  lover  Aegisthus,  son  of  Thjmstes. 

93 


OVID 


Haec  tamen  audierat :  Priameida  viderat  ipsa  :  405 

Victor  erat  praedae  praeda  pudenda  suae. 

Inde  Thyestiaden  animo  thalamoque  recepit. 

Et  male  peccantem  Tyndaris  ulta  virum. 

Quae  bene  celaris,  siquae  tamen  acta  patebunt. 

Illa,  licet  pateant,  tu  tamen  usque  nega.  410 

Tum  neque  subiectus,  solito  nec  blandior  esto  : 

Haec  animi  multum  signa  nocentis  habent  ; 

Sed  lateri  ne  parce  tuo  ;  pax  omnis  in  uno  est ; 
Concubitu  prior  est  infitianda  venus. 

Sunt,  qui  praecipiant  herbas,  satureia,  nocentes  415 
Sumere  ;  iudiciis  ista  venena  meis  ; 

Aut  piper  urticae  mordacis  semine  miscent, 

Tritaque  in  annoso  flava  pyrethra  mero  ; 

Sed  dea  non  patitur  sic  ad  sua  gaudia  cogi. 

Colle  sub  umbroso  quam  tenet  altus  Eryx.  420 

Candidus,  Alcathoi  qui  mittitur  urbe  Pelasga, 

Bulbus,  et,  ex  horto  quae  venit  herba  salax. 

Ovaque  sumantur,  sumantur  Hymettia  mella. 

Quasque  tulit  folio  pinus  acuta  nuces. 

Docta,  quid  ad  magicas,  Erato,  deverteris  artes  }  425 

Interior  curru  meta  terenda  meo  est. 

Qui  modo  celabas  monitu  tua  crimina  nostro. 

Flecte  iter,  et  monitu  detege  furta  meo. 

Nec  levitas  culpanda  mea  est  :  non  semper  eodem 
Impositos  vento  panda  carina  vehit.  430 

Nam  modo  Threicio  Borea,  modo  currimus  Euro, 

Saepe  tument  Zephyro  lintea,  saepe  Noto. 

425  magicas  MSS. :  medicas  Heinsius. 


^  A  similar  mixture  is  recommended  by  Pliny. 
*  Megara.  ^  i. e,  enica,  rocket. 


94 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


drawn  out  the  war.  Yet  this  she  had  but  heard: 
Priam’s  daughter  she  herself  had  seen;  the  victor 
was  his  own  captive’s  shameful  prey.  Then  did  she 
welcome  Thyestes’  son  to  her  heart  and, to  her 
bower :  and  Tyndareus’  daughter  avenged  her  hus¬ 
band’s  heinous  sin. 

Should  what  you  have  well  concealed  be  neverthe¬ 
less  made  manifest,  manifest  though  it  be  yet  deny 
it  evej-.  Be  not  submissive  then,  nor  more  flattering 
than  of  wont ;  such  signs  point  overmuch  to  guilt ; 
but  spare  no  elForts ;  peace  is  centred  in  one  thing  : 
by  caresses  must  the  former  passion  be  disproved. 
Some  counsel  the  taking  of  savory,  noxious  herb  ;  it 
is  poison,  in  my  judgment ;  or  they  mingle  pepper 
with  the  seed  of  biting  nettle,^  and  yellow  camomile 
ground  up  in  old  wine  ;  but  the  goddess  whom  lofty 
Eryx  holds  upon  his  shady  hill  will  not  thus  be  driven 
to  her  joys.  Let  white  onions,  sent  from  the  Pelas- 
gian  city  of  Alcathous,^  be  eaten,  and  the  salacious 
plant  which  comes  from  the  garden,^  eggs  too  and 
Hymettian  honey,  and  the  nuts  that  the  sharp-leaved 
pine  tree  bears. 

Why  turnestthou,  learned  Erato,  to  magical  arts  ? 
my  chariot  must  graze  the  inner  goal.*  You  who 
were  but  now  concealing  your  fault  by  my  ad¬ 
vice,  turn  your  path,  and  by  my  advice  uncover 
your  deceit.  And  blame  me  not  for  fickleness  :  not 
always  with  the  same  wind  does  the  curved  bark 
bear  its  crew.  For  now  we  run  before  Thracian 
Boreas,  now  before  Eurus ;  often  our  sails  swell  with 
the  Zephyr,  often  with  the  south  wind.  See  how  the 

*  i.e.  the  true  (but  more  esoteric)  doctrine  must  be  re¬ 
vealed  ;  it  is  contrasted  with  the  remedies  just  mentioned. 
Heinsius’  suggestion  medicas  makes  the  passage  clearer :  there 
is  a  more  subtle  way,  e.g,  a  skilful  use  of  jealousy  (1.  445). 

95 


OVID 


Aspice,  ut  in  curru  modo  det  fluitantia  rector 
Lora,  modo  admissos  arte  retentet  equos. 

Sunt  quibus  ingrate  timida  indulgentia  servit,  435 

Et,  si  nulla  subest  aemula,  languet  amor. 

Luxuriant  animi  rebus  plerumque  secundis, 

Nec  facile  est  aequa  commoda  mente  pati. 

Ut  levis  absumptis  paulatim  viribus  ignis 

Ipse  latet,  summo  canet  in  igne  cinis,  440 

Sed  tamen  extinctas  admoto  sulpure  flammas 
Invenit,  et  lumen  quod  fuit  ante,  redit  : 

Sic,  ubi  pigra  situ  securaque  pectora  torpent. 

Acribus  est  stimulis  eliciendus  amor. 

Fac  timeat  de  te,  tepidamque  recalface  mentem  :  445 

Palleat  indicio  criminis  illa  tui; 

O  quater  et  quotiens  numero  conprendere  non  est 
Felicem,  de  quo  laesa  puella  dolet : 

Quae,  simul  invitas  crimen  pervenit  ad  aures. 

Excidit,  et  miserae  voxque  colorque  fugit.  450 

Ille  ego  sim,  cuius  laniet  furiosa  capillos  : 

Ille  ego  sim,  teneras  cui  petat  ungue  genas. 

Quem  videat  lacrimans,  quem  torvis  spectet  ocellis. 

Quo  sine  non  possit  vivere,  posse  velit. 

Si  spatium  quaeras,  breve  sit,  quod  laesa  queratur,  466 
Ne  lenta  vires  colligat  ira  mora; 

Candida  iamdudum  cingantur  colla  lacertis, 

Inque  tuos  flens  est  accipienda  sinus. 

Oscula  da  flenti,  Veneris  da  gaudia  flenti. 

Pax  erit  :  hoc  uno  solvitur  ira  modo.  460 

Cum  bene  saevierit,  cum  certa  videbitur  hostis. 

Tum  pete  concubitus  foedera,  mitis  erit. 

Illic  depositis  habitat  Concordia  telis  : 

Illo,  crede  mihi,  Gratia  nata  loco  est. 


96 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


driver  in  his  car  now  lets  the  reins  float  loose^  now 
skilfully  holds  back  the  galloping  steeds.  Some 
women  are  there  whom  timid  indulgence  serves 
without  reward,  and,  when  no  rival  exists,  their 
passion  wanes.  Often  pride  waxes  in  prosperity,  nor 
is  it  easy  to  bear  good  fortune  with  equal  mind. 
J ust  as  a  fire,  growing  frail  as  its  forces  gradually 
abate,  itself  lies  hid,  while  the  cinders  grow  grey  on 
the  surface  of  the  fire  ;  but  add  sulphur,  and  it  finds 
its  extinguished  flames,  and  the  light  that  once  was 
there  returns — rso  when  hearts  grow  torpid  in  dull 
repose  and  freedom  from  all  care,  sharp  goads  must 
call  forth  love.  See  that  she  has  fears  about  you, 
and  fire  anew  her  cooling  thoughts ;  let  her  grow 
])ale  at  hearing  of  your  guilt ;  O  four  times  and 
unnumbered  times  happy  is  he  over  whom  an 
injured  woman  grieves ;  who,  as  soon  as  the  charge 
has  reached  her  unwilling  ears,  faints  away,  and 
voice  and  colour  leave  her  unhappy  frame.  May  I 
be  he  whose  hair  she  furiously  rends  !  may  I  be  he 
whose  tender  cheeks  her  nails  attack  !  whom  weep¬ 
ing  she  regards,  at  whom  she  glares  with  angry  eyes, 
without  whom  she  could  not  live,  though  fain  she 
would  !  Should  you  ask  how  long,  let  the  time  for 
her  to  lament  her  injuries  be  short,  lest  anger  gather 
strength  by  slow  delay  ;  long  ere  this  let  your  arms 
encircle  her  white  neck,  and  gather  her  weeping  to 
your  bosom.  Kiss  her  as  she  weeps,  give  her  as  she 
weeps  the  joys  of  Venus  ;  then  there  will  be  peace,  in 
this  way  alone  will  anger  be  dispelled.  When  she  has 
raged  her  fill,  when  she  seems  your  certain  foe,  then 
seek  the  treaty  of  a  love  embrace  :  that  will  make 
her  gentle.  Therein  dwells  Concord  when  the  fight 
is  o’er;  there,  believe  me,  was  Reconciliation  born. 

97 

H 


OVJD 


Quae  modo  pugnarunt,  iungunt  sua  rostra  columbae,  465 
Quarum  blanditias  verbaque  murmur  habet. 

Prima  fuit  rerum  confusa  sine  ordine  moles, 

Unaque  erat  facies  sidera,  terra,  fretum ; 

Mox  caelum  impositum  terris,  humus  aequore  cincta  est 
Inque  suas  partes  cessit  inane  chaos ;  470 

Silva  feras,  volucres  aer  accepit  habendas. 

In  liquida  pisces  delituistis  aqua. 

Tum  genus  humanum  solis  errabat  in  agris, 

Idque  merae  vires  et  rude  corpus  erat ; 

Silva  domus  fuerat,  cibus  herba,  cubilia  frondes  :  475 

lamque  diu  nulli  cognitus  alter  erat. 

Blanda  truces  animos  fertur  mollisse  voluptas  r 
Constiterant  uno  femina  virque  loco; 

Quid  facerent,  ipsi  nullo  didicere  magistro  : 

Arte  Venus  nulla  dulce  peregit  opus.  480 

Ales  habet,  quod  amet ;  cum  quo  sua  gaudia  iungat. 
Invenit  in  media  femina  piscis  aqua ; 

Cerva  parem  sequitur,  serpens  serpente  tenetur. 

Haeret  adulterio  cum  cane  nexa  canis  ; 

Laeta  salitur  ovis  :  tauro  quoque  laeta  iuvenca  est :  485 
Sustinet  inmundum  sima  capella  marem  ; 

In  furias  agitantur  equae,  spatioque  remota 
Per  loca  dividuos  amne  sequuntur  equos. 

Ergo  age  et  iratae  medicamina  fortia  praebe ; 

Illa  feri  requiem  sola  doloris  habent  ;  490 

Illa  Machaonios  superant  medicamina  sucos  : 

His,  ubi  peccaris,  restituendus  eris. 

Haec  ego  cum  canerem,  subito  manifestus  Apollo 
Movit  inauratae  pollice  fila  lyrae. 

1  He  and  Podalirius  were  the  physicians  of  the  Greek  army 
before  Troy  ;  they  were  sons  of  Asclepius. 

98 


ART  OF  LOVE:  11 


The  doves  who  lately  fought  now  join  bill  to  bill ; 
words  of  blandishment  are  in  their  cooing. 

First  there  was  a  confused  mass  of  things  without 
order^  and  stars  and  earth  and  sea  had  but  one 
appearance;  presently  the  sky  was  set  over  the 
earth,  the  land  was  ringed  by  the  sea,  and  empty 
void  retired  to  its  own  place  ;  the  forest  received 
wild  beasts  to  kee2),  and  the  air  birds ;  ye  lurked,  ye 
fishes,  in  the  liquid  waters.  Then  mankind  wandered 
in  the  lonely  fields  ;  brute  strength  was  theirs  and 
forms  uncouth  ;  woodland  was  their  home,  their  food 
grass,  their  bedding  leaves ;  and  for  long  none  knew 
his  fellow.  Beguiling  pleasure  is  said  to  have  soft¬ 
ened  those  fierce  spirits  :  a  man  and  a  woman  had 
tarried  together  in  one  spot ;  what  were  they  to  do, 
they  learnt  themselves  with  none  to  teach  them  : 
artlessly  did  Venus  accomplish  the  sweet  act.  The 
bird  has  one  he  may  love;  in  mid-sea  the  female 
fish  finds  one  with  whom  to  unite  in  pleasure ;  the 
hind  follows  her  mate,  serpent  is  clasped  by  serpent, 
the  hound  is  joined  in  clinging  lechery  to  the  bitch ; 
gladly  the  ewe  endures  the  leap,  the  heifer  rejoices 
in  the  bull,  the  snub-nosed  goat  supports  her  unclean 
lord ;  mares  are  excited  to  frenzy,  and  through  regions 
far  removed  follow  the  stallions,  though  streams 
divide  them.  Come  then,  and  for  an  angry  woman 
bring  powerful  medicines ;  they  alone  give  repose 
to  savage  wrath  ;  those  medicines  surpass  the  juices 
of  Machaon,!  by  them,  when  you  have  erred,  must 
you  be  restored  to  favour.^  w 

While  I  was  singing  thus,  Apollo  suddenly  ap¬ 
peared  and  moved  with  his  thumb  the  strings  of  his 

^  For  the  “medicamina  fortia”  that  he  recommends  see  11. 
457  sqq. 


H  2 


99 


OVID 


In  manibus  laurus,  sacris  inducta  capillis  495 

Laurus  erat ;  vates  ille  videndus  adit. 

Is  mihi  “  Lascivi  ”  dixit  “  praeceptor  Amoris, 

Duc,  age,  discipulos  ad  mea  templa  tuos. 

Est  ubi  diversum  fama  celebrata  per  orbem 

Littera,  cognosci  quae  sibi  quemque  iubet.  600 

Qui  sibi  notus  erit,  solus  sapienter  amabit. 

Atque  opus  ad  vires  exiget  omne  suas. 

Cui  faciem  natura  dedit,  spectetur  ab  illa  : 

Cui  color  est,  umero  saejie  patente  cubet : 

Qui  sermone  placet,  taciturna  silentia  vitet ;  605 

Qui  canit  arte,  canat ;  qui  bibit  arte,  bibat. 

Sed  neque  declament  medio  sermone  diserti. 

Nec  sua  non  sanus  scripta  poeta  legat !  ” 

Sic  monuit  Phoebus  :  Phoebo  parete  monenti ; 

Certa  dei  sacro  est  huius  in  ore  fides.  610 

Ad  propiora  vocor.  Quisquis  sapienter  amabit. 

Vincet,  et  e  nostra,  quod  petet,  arte  feret. 

Credita  non  semper  sulci  cum  foenore  reddunt. 

Nec  semper  dubias  adiuvat  aura  rates  ; 

Quod  iuvat,  exiguum,  plus  est,  quod  laedat  amantes  ;  615 
Proponant  animo  multa  ferenda  suo. 

Quot  lepores  in  Atho,  quot  apes  pascuntur  in  Hybla, 
Caerula  quot  bacas  Palladis  arbor  habet, 

Littore  quot  conchae,  tot  sunt  in  amore  dolores ; 

Quae  patimur,  multo  spicula  felle  madent.  520 

Dicta  erit  isse  foras,  quam  tu  fortasse  videbis  : 

Isse  foras,  et  te  falsa  videre  puta. 

Clausa  tibi  fuerit  promissa  ianua  nocte  : 

Perfer  et  inmunda  ponere  corpus  humo. 

496  adit  MSS. :  abit  iJ :  agit  Hehisius. 


lOO 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


golden  lyre.  In  his  hand  was  hay,  with  bay  his 
sacred  locks  were  veiled ;  he  draws  nigh,  a  poet 
worthy  to  behold.  Preceptor  of  wanton  love,” 
said  he  to  me,  “come,  lead  thy  pupils  to  my  shrine, 
where  there  is  a  saying  renowned  in  fame  o’er  all  the 
world,  which  bids  each  be  known  by  himself.^  Only 
he  who  knows  himself  will  love  with  Avisdom,  and 
perform  all  his  task  according  to  his  powers.  Let 
him  to  whom  nature  has  given  beauty  be  looked  at 
for  that ;  he  who  has  a  fair  skin,  let  him  oft  lie  with 
shoulder  visible  ;  let  him  who  pleases  by  his  talk 
break  the  still  silence ;  who  sings  well,  let  him  sing, 
who  drinks  well,  let  him  drink.  But  neither  let  the 
eloquent  declaim  in  the  midst  of  talk,  nor  the 
frenzied  poet  recite  his  verses.’’  So  Phoebus  coun¬ 
selled  :  obey  jq  Phoebus’  counsels ;  in  the  sacred 
mouth  of  that  god  is  sure  warrant. 

To  nearer  matters  am  I  called.  Whoso  loves 
wisely  will  be  victorious,  and  by  my  art  will  gain 
his  end.  Not  always  do  the  furrows  repay  their 
trust  with  interest,  not  always  does  the  wind  assist 
perplexed  vessels ;  what  aids  lovers  is  but  little, 
more  there  is  to  thwart  them ;  let  them  make  up 
their  minds  to  many  a  trial.  As  many  as  the  hares 
that  feed  on  Athos,  or  the  bees  on  Hybla,  as  many 
as  the  berries  that  the  blue-grey  tree  of  Pallas 
bears,  or  the  shells  that  are  on  the  shore,  so  many 
are  the  pains  of  love ;  the  darts  that  wound  us  are 
steeped  in  much  poison.  She  will  be  said  to  have 
gone  abroad,  though  you  perchance  will  see  her : 
believe  she  has  gone,  and  that  your  eyes  deceive  you. 
On  the  promised  night  her  door  will  be  shut  against 
you:  endure  to  lay  your  body  even  on  unclean 

The  famous  yvSiei  ffeavTdv  on  Apollo’s  temple  at  Delphi. 

lOI 


1 


OVID 


Forsitan  et  vultu  mendax  ancilla  superbo  525 

Dicet  “  quid  nostras  obsidet  iste  fores  ?  ” 

Postibus  et  durae  suj)plex  blandire  j)uellae. 

Et  capiti  demptas  in  fore  pone  rosas. 

Cum  volet,  accedes  :  cum  te  vitabit,  abibis ; 

Dedecet  ingenuos  taedia  ferre  sui.  530 

“  Effugei-e  hunc  non  est  ”  quare  tibi  possit  amica 
Dicere  ?  non  omni  tempore  sensus  adest. 

Nec  maledicta  puta,  nec  verbera  ferre  puellae 
Tuiqie,  nec  ad  teneros  oscula  ferre  pedes. 

Quid  moror  in  parvis  ?  Animus  maioribus  instat ;  535 

Magna  canam  :  toto  pectore,  vulgus,  ades. 

Ardua  molimur,  sed  nulla,  nisi  ardua,  virtus  : 

Difficilis  nostra  j)oscitur  arte  labor. 

Rivalem  patienter  habe,  victoria  tecum 

Stabit  :  eris  magni  victor  in  arce  lovis.  540 

Haec  tibi  non  hominem,  sed  quercus  crede  Pelasgas 
Dicere  :  nil  istis  ars  mea  maius  habet. 

Innuet  illa,  feras  ;  scribet,  ne  tange  tabellas  : 

Unde  volet,  veniat ;  quoque  libebit,  eat. 

Hoc  in  legitima  praestant  uxore  mariti,  545 

Cum,  tener,  ad  partes  tu  quoque,  somne,  venis. 

Hac  ego,  confiteor,  non  sum  perfectus  in  arte  ; 

Quid  faciam?  monitis  sum  minor  ipse  meis. 

Mene  palam  nostrae  det  quisquam  signa  puellae. 

Et  patiar,  nec  me  quolibet  ira  ferat  ?  550 

Oscula  vir  dederat,  memini,  suus  :  oscula  questus 
Sum  data ;  barbaria  noster  abundat  amor  ! 

532  adest  Heinsius  :  obest  H. 

540  in  arce  31 SS. :  in  orbe  A'. 


*  i. e.  you  cannot  on  every  occasion  relv  on  your  physical 
attractiveness. 


102 


ART  OF  LOVE;  II 


ground.  Perhaps  some  lying,  proud-faced  maid  will 
say,  “  Why  does  this  fellow  besiege  our  door  ?  ’’ 
Supplicate  and  coax  both  door  and  cruel  damsel, 
take  the  roses  from  your  head  and  hang  them  on 
the  doorpost.  When  she  is  willing,  go  to  her ;  when 
she  shuns  you,  depart;  the  well-bred  man  should  not 
bear  to  become  a  bore.  Why  should  your  mistress 
be  able  to  say,  “  I  cannot  escape  from  this  fellow  ?  ” 
the  senses  are  not  always  present  to  aid.^  Think 
it  not  shameful  to  endure  a  woman’s  abuse  or  blows, 
nor  to  give  kisses  to  her  tender  feet. 

Why  do  I  tarry  over  small  matters?  my  spirit 
ventures  greater  themes  :  of  great  things  will  I  sing  : 
ye  people,  give  all  your  mind.  I  attempt  a  difficult 
task  ;  but  what  is  meritorious  must  needs  be  difficult : 
stern  toil  is  demanded  by  my  art.  Endure  a  rival 
patiently ;  victory  will  be  on  your  side ;  you  will 
stand  a  victor  on  the  citadel  of  great  Jove.^  Think 
that  no  man,  but  the  Pelasgian  oaks^  are  saying 
this  ;  naught  of  greater  import  than  this  does  my 
art  contain.  Does  she  beckon  ?  bear  it ;  does  she 
write  ?  touch  not  her  tablets  ^ ;  let  her  come  whence 
she  will ;  let  her  go  whither  she  pleases.  Husbands 
afford  this  liberty  to  their  lawful  wives,  when  thou, 
soft  sleep,  comest  to  their  aid.  In  this  art,  I  confess, 
I  am  not  perfect ;  what  am  I  to  do  ?  I  fall  short  of 
my  own  counsels.  Shall  anyone  in  my  presence  make 
signs  to  my  own  mistress  ?  shall  I  endure  it  ?  shall 
wrath  not  drive  me  where  it  will?  Her  own  husband, 
I  remember,  had  kissed  her  :  I  complained  of  the 
kisses ;  my  love  is  full  of  savagery.  Not  once  only 

2  i.e.  like  a  triumphing  Consul  on  the  Capitol. 

®  The  oracle  of  Dodona,  sacred  to  Pelasgian  Zeus. 

*  i.e.  when  she  is  writing  to  a  rival. 


103 


OVID 


Non  semel  hoc  vitium  nocuit  mihi :  doctior  ille, 

Quo  veniunt  alii  conciliante  viri. 

Sed  melius  nescisse  fuit :  sine  furta  tegantur,  555 

Ne  fugiat  ficto  fassus  ab  ore  pudor. 

Quo  magis,  o  iuvenes,  deprendere  parcite  vestras  : 

Peccent,  peccantes  verba  dedisse  putent. 

Crescit  amor  prensis  ;  ubi  par  fortuna  duorum  est. 

In  causa  damni  perstat  uterque  sui.  560 

Fabula  narratur  toto  notissima  caelo, 

Mulciberis  capti  Marsque  Venusque  dolis. 

Mars  pater,  insano  Veneris  turbatus  amore. 

De  duce  terribili  factus  amator  erat. 

Nec  Venus  oranti  (neque  enim  dea  mollior  ulla  est)  565 
Rustica  Gradivo  difficilisque  fuit. 

A,  quotiens  lasciva  pedes  risisse  mariti 
Dicitur,  et  duras  igne  vel  arte  manus. 

Marte  palam  simul  est  Vulcanum  imitata,  decebat,  ^  ' 
Multaque  cum  forma  gi-atia  mixta  fuit.  570 

Sed  bene  concubitus  primos  celare  solebant. 

Plena  verecundi  culpa  pudoris  erat. 

Indicio  Solis  (quis  Solem  fallere  possit  ?) 

Cognita  Vulcano  coniugis  acta  suae. 

Quam  mala,  Sol,  exempla  moves !  Pete  munus  ab  ipsa 
Et  tibi,  si  taceas,  quod  dai-e  possit,  habet.  576 

Mulciber  obscuros  lectum  circaque  superque 
Disponit  laqueos  ;  lumina  fallit  opus. 

Fingit  iter  Lemnum ;  veniunt  ad  foedus  amantes  : 

Impliciti  laqueis  nudus  uterque  iacent.  680 

Convocat  ille  deos  ;  praebent  spectacula  capti  : 

Vix  lacrimas  Venerem  continuisse  putant. 

Non  vultus  texisse  suos,  non  denique  possunt 
Partibus  obscenis  opposuisse  manus. 

556  ficto  Madvig :  victo  M8S. ;  fassus  R :  laesus  MS8,  [and 
correction  in  R). 

104 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 

has  this  fault  done  me  harm  :  wiser  he  by  whose 
complaisance  other  men  come  to  his  mistress.  But 
ignorance  were  better  :  allow  deceptions  to  be  hid, 
lest  the  shame  of  confession  fly  from  her  dissembling 
countenance.!  Wherefore  all  the  more,  O  lovers, 
detecting  your  mistresses ;  let  them  err,  and  erring 
think  they  have  deceived.  Detection  fans  the  flame 
of  passion  j  where  two  have  shared  misfortune,  each 
persists  in  the  cause  of  his  own  fall.  There  is  a 
story,  most  famous  over  all  the  world,  of  Mars  and 
Venus  caught  by  Mulciber’s  guile.  Father  Mars, 
plagued  by  frenzied  love  of  Venus,  from  a  terrible 
captain  became  a  lover.  Nor  was  Venus  bashful  (for 
no  goddess  has  a  tenderer  heart),  nor  unresponsive 
to  Gradivus’  prayers.  Ah,  how  oft  is  she  said  to 
have  laughed,  the  wanton,  at  her  husband’s  legs, 
and  at  his  hands  hardened  by  fire  and  workmanship ! 
In  Mars’  presence  she  had  but  to  imitate  Vulcan, 
and  it  became  her:  and  much  charm  was  mingled 
with  her  beauty.  But  at  first  they  concealed  their 
meetings  well,  and  full  of  shamefast  modesty  was 
their  sinning.  By  the  Sun’s  evidence  (who  could 
deceive  the  Sun .?)  the  doings  of  his  wife  were  made 
known  to  Vulcan.  How  bad  an  example.  Sun,  you 
are  giving !  Request  a  privilege  from  her :  you  too 
she  will  oblige,  if  you  will  but  hold  your  tongue. 
Mulciber  disposes  hidden  snares  around  and  above 
the  couch ;  the  device  baffles  the  eye.  He  feigns  a 
voyage  to  Lemnos ;  the  lovers  meet  as  arranged ; 
caught  in  the  snares  the  two  lie  naked.  He  summons 
the  gods;  the  captured  pair  afford  a  spectacle;  scarce 
did  Venus,  they  say,  restrain  her  tears.  They  can¬ 
not  cover  their  faces,  nor  even  veil  their  lewd  parts 

*  i.e.  lest  she  no  longer  blush  to  confess,  but  do  so  shamelessly. 

105 


OVID 


Hic  aliquis  ridens  ‘‘in  me,  fortissime  Mavors, 

Si  tibi  sunt  oneri,  vincula  transfer  !  ”  ait. 

Vix  precibus,  Neptune,  tuis  captiva  resolvit 
Corpora  :  Mars  Threcen  occupat,  illa  Paphum. 

Hoc  tibi  perfecto,  Vulcane,  quod  ante  tegebant. 
Liberius  faciunt,  ut  pudor  omnis  abest : 

Saepe  tamen  demens  stulte  fecisse  fateris, 

Teque  ferunt  artis  paenituisse  tuae. 

Hoc  vetiti  vos  este  ;  vetat  deprensa  Dione 
Insidias  illas,  quas  tulit  ipsa,  dare. 

Nec  vos  rivali  laqueos  disponite,  nec  vos 
Excipite  arcana  verba  notata  manu. 

Ista  viri  captent,  si  iam  captanda  putabunt. 

Quos  faciet  iustos  ignis  et  unda  viros. 

En,  iterum  testor :  nihil  hic,  nisi  lege  remissum 
Luditur :  in  nostris  instita  nulla  iocis. 


/ 


Quis  Cereris  ritus  ausit  vulgare  profanis, 
Magnaque  Threicia  sacra  reperta  Samo  ? 
Exigua  est  virtus  praestare  silentia  rebus  : 

At  contra  gravis  est  culpa  tacenda  loqui. 
O  bene,  quod  frustra  captatis  arbore  pomis 
Garrulus  in  media  Tantalus  aret  aqua  ! 
Praecipue  Cytherea  iubet  sua  sacra  taceri  : 

Admoneo,  veniat  nequis  ad  illa  loquax. 
Condita  si  non  sunt  Veneris  mysteria  cistis, 
Nec  cava  vesanis  ictibus  aera  sonant, 
Attamen  inter  nos  medio  versantur  in  usu. 
Sed  sic,  inter  nos  ut  latuisse  velint. 


585 


590 


595 


600 


605 


610 


589  perfecto  II :  profectum  Heinsius. 

593  vetiti  vos  esse  (este  Ehwald)  E :  vetui  .  .  .  vos  ecce  MS8. 


^  i. e.  this  is  a  pursuit  for  husbands,  not  for  lovers.  Fire  and 
water,  as  symbols  of  the  home  life,  or,  according  to  some,  of 
purification,  were  presented  to  the  new  bride  by  her  husband 

io6 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


with  their  hands.  Then  someone  laughs  and  says, 
“  Most  valiant  Mars,  if  they  burden  you,  transfer 
your  chains  to  me !  ”  Scarce  at  thy  prayer,  O 
Neptune,  does  he  set  their  bodies  free :  Mars 
hurries  to  Thrace,  and  she  to  Paphos.  After  this 
feat  of  thine,  O  Vulcan,  what  they  before  concealed 
they  do  more  freely,  since  all  shame  is  absent :  yet 
often,  mad  fool,  dost  thou  confess  that  thou  didst 
act  stupidly,  and  they  say  thou  hast  repented  of 
thine  own  skill.  Do  you  be  warned  of  this;  Dione’s 
detection  warns  you  not  to  set  those  snares  that  she 
endured.  Devise  no  toils  for  your  rival,  nor  lie  in 
wait  for  letters  written  in  a  secret  hand.  Them  let 
those  men  try  to  catch  (if  they  think  them  worth 
the  catching)  whom  fire  and  water  will  make  lawTul 
husbands.^  Lo !  again  do  I  bear  witness  :  there  is 
here  no  sport  save  what  the  law  allows :  no  long 
skirt  figures  in  my  mirth. 

Who  would  dare  to  publish  to  the  profane  the 
rites  of  Ceres,  or  the  great  ceremonies  devised  in 
Samothrace? 2  Keeping  silence  is  but  a  small  virtue, 
but  to  speak  what  should  not  be  uttered  is  a  heinous 
crime.  Well  is  it  that  garrulous  Tantalus  clutches 
in  vain  at  the  apples  on  the  tree,  and  parches  in  the 
water’s  midst !  Cytherea  above  all  forbids  her  rites 
to  be  told  of;  I  give  warning  that  no  talkative  person 
approach  them.  Even  if  the  mysteries  of  Venus  are 
not  hidden  in  chests,^  nor  does  the  hollow  bronze  re¬ 
sound  to  frenzied  blows,^  yet  among  us  they  are  met 
with  in  common  use,  but  only  so  that  among  us  they 

on  first  entering  her  new  home.  The  words  therefore  mean 
“those  properly  married.” 

2  The  Eleusinian  mysteries  of  Ceres  and  those  at  Samo¬ 
thrace  were  famous  in  the  ancient  world. 

®  As  were  certain  mysterious  objects  in  the  worship  of  Ceres. 

*  i.c.  to  warn  the  profane  to  hold  aloof. 

107 


OVID 


Ipsa  Venus  pubem,  quotiens  velamina  ponit. 

Protegitur  laeva  semireducta  manu. 

In  medio  passimque  coit  pecus  :  hoc  quoque  viso  615 
Avertit  vultus  saepe  puella  suos. 

Conveniunt  thalami  furtis  et  ianua  nostris. 

Parsque  sub  iniecta  veste  pudenda  latet  : 

Et  si  non  tenebras,  ad  quiddam  nubis  opacae 

Quaerimus,  atque  aliquid  luce  patente  minus.  020 
Tunc  quoque,  cum  solem  nondum  prohibebat  et  imbrem 
Tegula,  sed  quercus  tecta  cibumque  dabat, 

In  nemore  atque  antris,  non  sub  love,  iuncta  voluptas ; 

Tanta  rudi  populo  cura  pudoris  ei-at. 

At  nunc  nocturnis  titulos  inponimus  actis,  625 

Atque  emitur  magno  nil,  nisi  posse  loqui  ! 

Scilicet  excuties  omnes  ubicumque  puellas, 

Cuilibet  ut  dicas  “haec  quoque  nostra  fuit,” 

Ne  desint,  quas  tu  digitis  ostendere  possis  ? 

Ut  quamque  adtigeris,  fabula  turpis  erit.?  630 

Parva  queror  :  fingunt  quidam,  quae  vera  negarent, 

Et  nulli  non  se  concubuisse  ferunt. 

Corpora  si  nequeunt,  quae  possunt,  nomina  tangunt. 
Famaque  non  tacto  corpore  crimen  habet. 

I  nunc,  claude  fores,  custos  odiose  puellae,  635 

Et  centum  duris  postibus  obde  seras  ! 

Quid  tuti  superest,  cum  nominis  extat  adulter. 

Et  credi  quod  non  contigit  esse,  cupit  ? 

Nos  etiam  veros  pai’ce  profitemur  amores. 

Tectaque  sunt  solida  mystica  furta  fide.  640 


^  The  Cnidian  Aphrodite  of  Praxiteles  has  this  attitude, 
except  that  it  is  the  right  hand ;  it  became  a  recognised 

io8 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


would  fain  be  hidden.  Venus  herself,^  as  oft  as 
she  lays  aside  her  robes,  half  stooping  covers  with  her 
left  hand  her  secret  parts.  Beasts  unite  everywhere 
and  in  public  view;  and  oft  at  the  sight  a  maiden 
turns  her  face  aside.  Chambers  and  a  locked  door 
beseem  our  secret  doings,  the  parts  of  shame  are  hid 
’neath  a  covering  garment,  and  we  seek,  if  not  dark¬ 
ness,  at  least  dim  shadow  and  somewhat  less  than 
open  daylight.  In  those  days  too  when  sun  and 
rain  were  not  yet  kept  out  by  a  roof,  but  an  oak 
gave  food  and  covering  alike,  pleasure  w'as  shared  in 
forest  and  cave,  not  in  the  open  au’ :  so  strong  was 
the  thought  of  shame  in  a  simple  folk.  But  now  we 
make  our  nightly  exploits  a  title  to  renown,  and 
purchase  at  a  high  price  naught  but  the  power  to 
brag !  What !  shall  you  make  trial  of  all  women 
everywhere,  so  that  you  may  say  to  no  matter  who, 
“  She  too  was  mine,”  and  never  lack  girls  to  point 
to  with  your  finger  ?  As  you  touch  upon  each, 
shall  there  be  a  tale  of  shame I  lament  but 
trifles  2 :  some  make  up  tales  which  if  true  they 
would  deny,  and  say  there  is  no  woman  with  whom 
they  have  not  lain.  If  bodies  escape  them,  they 
take  hold  of  names,  and  though  the  body  escape,  the 
name  retains  the  charge.  Go  now,  hateful  guardian, 
bar  the  lady’s  door,  and  add  a  hundred  bolts  to  the 
sturdy  posts.  What  remains  secure,  when  the  dis¬ 
honourer  of  her  name  abides,  and  would  have  what 
ne’er  befell  believed  ?  As  for  me  I  recount  even  true 
amours  but  sparely,  and  a  solid  secrecy  hides  my 
dark  intrigues. 

type,  as  in  the  Venus  de  Medicis ;  cf.  also  Apuleius, 
Met.  2.  17,  10.  31. 

^  i.  e.  in  comparison  with  what  follows. 

109 


OVID 


Parcite  praecipue  vitia  exprobrare  puellis^ 

Utile  quae  multis  dissimulasse  fuit. 

Nec  suus  Andromedae  color  est  obiectus  ab  illo, 

Mobilis  in  gemino  cui  pede  pinna  fuit. 

Omnibus  Andromache  visa  est  spatiosior  aequo  :  645 

Unus,  qui  modicam  diceret,  Hector  erat. 

Quod  male  fers,  adsuesce,  feres  bene  ;  multa  vetustas 
Lenit :  at  incipiens  omnia  sentit  amor. 

Dum  novus  in  viridi  coalescit  cortice  ramus, 

Concutiat  tenerum  quaelibet  aura,  cadet :  650 

Mox  eadem  ventis,  spatio  durata,  resistet, 

Firmaque  adoptivas  arbor  habebit  opes. 

Eximit  ipsa  dies  omnes  e  corpore  mendas. 

Quodque  fuit  vitium,  desinit  esse  mora. 

Ferre  novae  nares  taurorum  terga  recusant :  655 

Adsiduo  domitas  tempore  fallit  odor. 

Nominibus  mollire  licet  mala  :  fusca  vocetur. 

Nigrior  Illyrica  cui  2>ice  sanguis  erit : 

Si  paeta  est,  Veneris  similis  :  si  flava,  Minervae  : 

Sit  gracilis,  macie  quae  male  viva  sua  est  ;  660 

Dic  habilem,  quaecumque  brevis,  quae  turgida,  plenam. 
Et  lateat  vitium  proximitate  boni. 

Nec  quotus  annus  eat,  nec  quo  sit  nata,  require. 

Consule,  quae  rigidus  munera  Censor  habet  : 

Praecipue  si  flore  caret,  rneliusque  peractum  665 

Tempus,  et  albentes  iam  legit  illa  comas. 

Utilis,  o  iuvenes,  aut  haec,  aut  serior  aetas  : 

Iste  feret  segetes,  iste  serendus  ager. 

Dum  vires  annique  sinunt,  tolerate  labores  : 

Iam  veniet  tacito  curva  senecta  pede.  670 

659  paeta  MSS. :  crassa  Merkd  ;  flava  11  (in  marg.) :  rava 
Heinsvus :  parva  R :  torva  Merkel. 


I  lo 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


Particularly  forbear  to  reproach  a  woman  with  her 
faults,  faults  which  many  have  found  it  useful  to  feign 
otherwise.  Her  complexion  was  not  made  a  reproach 
against  Andromeda  by  him  on  whose  either  foot  w'as 
a  swift  moving  pinion.  All  thought  Andromache  too 
big  :  Hector  alone  deemed  her  of  moderate  size. 
Grow  used  to  what  you  bear  ill  :  you  Avill  bear  it  well ; 
age  eases  many  a  smart,  but  love  feels  everything  at 
first.  While  the  graft  is  newly  growing  in  the  green 
bark,  let  any  breeze  but  shake  the  weakling  shoot, 
’twill  fall ;  soon,  strengthened  by  time,  this  same 
tree  will  withstand  the  winds,  and  stoutly  bear  its 
adopted  fruits.  Time  itself  removes  all  faults  from 
the  body,  and  what  was  a  blemish  ceases  to  be  a 
hindrance.  Nostrils  in  youth  cannot  bear  the  hides 
of  bulls ;  when  years  of  habit  have  tamed  them  the 
odour  is  not  noticed.  With  names  ^  you  can  soften 
shortcomings ;  let  her  be  called  swarthy,  whose 
blood  is  blacker  than  Illyrian  pitch ;  if  cross-eyed, 
she  is  like  Venus  :  yellow-haired,  like  Minerva;  call 
her  slender  whose  thinness  impairs  her  health;  if 
short,  call  her  trim;  if  stout,  of  full  body;  let  its 
nearness  to  a  vii-tue  conceal  a  fault. 

Ask  not  how  old  she  be,  nor  under  what  consul 
she  was  born;  these  are  the  duties  of  the  stern  Censor  : 
particularly  so,  if  she  is  past  her  prime,  if  the  flower 
of  her  age  is  over,  and  already  she  is  plucking  out 
the  whitening  hairs.  Profitable,  ye  lovers,  is  that  or 
even  a  later  age  ;  that  field  will  bear,  that  field  must 
be  sown.  Endure  the  toil,  while  your  strength  and 
years  permit ;  soon  bent  old  age  will  come  with  silent 

^  Well-known  parallels  to  this  advice  are  Lucretius,  4. 
1160  sqq.  ;  Horace,  Sat.  1.  3.  38  sqq. 


Ill 


OVID 


Aut  mare  remigiis,  aut  vomere  findite  terras, 

Aut  fera  belligeras  addite  in  arma  manus, 

Aut  latus  et  vires  operamque  adferte  puellis  : 

Hoc  quoque  militia  est,  hoc  quoque  quaerit  opes. 
Adde,  quod  est  illis  operum  prudentia  maior,  675 

Solus  et  artifices  qui  facit,  usus  adest : 

Illae  munditiis  annorum  damna  rependunt. 

Et  faciunt  cura,  ne  videantur  anus. 

Utque  velis,  venerem  iungunt  per  mille  figuras  : 

Invenit  plures  nulla  tabella  modos.  680 

Illis  sentitur  non  inritata  voluptas  : 

Quod  iuvet,  ex  aequo  femina  virque  ferant. 

Odi  concubitus,  qui  non  utrumque  resolvunt ; 

Hoc  est,  cur  pueri  tangar  amore  minus. 

Odi  quae  praebet,  quia  sit  praebere  necesse,  686 

Siccaque  de  lana  cogitat  ipsa  sua. 

Quae  datur  officio,  non  est  mihi  grata  voluptas  : 

Officium  faciat  nulla  puella  mihi. 

Me  voces  audire  iuvat  sua  gaudia  fassas  : 

Utque  morer  memet  sustineamque  roget.  690 

Aspiciam  dominae  victos  amentis  ocellos  : 

Langueat,  et  tangi  se  vetet  illa  diu. 

Haec  bona  non  primae  tribuit  natui-a  iu ventae. 

Quae  cito  post  septem  lustra  venire  solent. 

Qui  properant,  nova  musta  bibant  :  mihi  fundat  avitum 
Consulibus  priscis  condita  testa  merum.  696 

Nec  platanus,  nisi  sera,  potest  obsistere  Phoebo, 

Et  laedunt  nudos  prata  novella  pedes. 

Scilicet  Hermionen  Helenae  pi’aeponere  posses. 

Et  melior  Gorge,  quam  sua  mater,  erat  ?  700 

At  venerem  quicumque  voles  adtingere  seram. 

Si  modo  duraris,  praemia  digna  feres. 


^  Daughter  of  Althaea  and  Oeneus,  king  of  Aetolia. 


II2 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


foot.  Cleave  the  sea  with  oars,  or  the  earth  with 
the  plough,  or  exert  your  warlike  hands  in  savage 
battle,  or  bring  to  women’s  service  your  bodily 
strength  and  vigour  and  diligence  :  this  too  is  war¬ 
fare,  this  too  calls  for  your  powers.  Add  this,  that 
they  have  greater  acquaintance  with  their  business, 
and  they  have  experience,  which  alone  gives  skill, 
upon  their  side :  they  make  good  the  waste  of  years. 
By  elegance  and  by  their  pains  contrive  not  to  seem 
old.  According  to  your  taste  they  will  embrace 
you  in  a  thousand  ways ;  no  picture  could  devise 
more  modes  than  they.  They  need  no  spur  to  enjoy 
their  pleasure :  let  both  man  and  woman  feel  what 
delights  them  equally.  I  hate  embraces  which  leave 
not  each  outworn  ;  that  is  why  a  boy’s  love  ai^peals 
to  me  but  little.  I  hate  her  who  gives  because  she 
must,  and  who,  herself  unmoved,  is  thinking  of  hex- 
wool.  Pleasure  given  as  a  duty  has  no  charms  for 
me ;  for  me  let  no  woman  be  dutiful.  I  like  to 
hear  the  words  that  confess  i-apture,  that  beg  me 
hold  back  and  stay  awhile.  May  I  see  my  mistress 
in  frenzy,  with  eyes  that  confess  defeat ;  may  she  be 
languid,  and  long  refuse  to  be  embraced.  These 
joys,  which  come  quickly  after  seven  lustres,  nature 
has  not  granted  to  eai’ly  youth.  Let  those  who 
hasten  drink  new  liquor ;  for  me  let  a  jar  put  down 
under  ancient  consuls  pour  forth  its  ancestral  wine. 
Neither  can  the  plane  tree,  save  it  be  mature,  resist 
the  sun,  and  new-sprung  meads  injure  naked  feet. 
What  ?  would  you  be  able  to  prefer  Hermione  to 
Helen,  and  was  Gorge  ^  fairer  than  her  mother 
whoever  you  are  that  wish  to  appi-oach  charms  that 
are  mature,  if  you  will  play  your  part,  you  will  win 
a  fitting  rewai'd. 

113 

X 


OVID 


Conscius,  ecce,  duos  accepit  lectus  amantes  : 

Ad  thalami  clausas,  Musa,  resiste  fores. 

Sponte  sua  sine  te  celeberrima  verba  loquentur, 
Nec  manus  in  lecto  laeva  iacebit  iners. 

Invenient  digiti,  quod  agant  in  partibus  illis. 

In  quibus  occulte  spicula  figit  Amor. 

Fecit  in  Andromache  jnfius  hoc  fortissimus  Hector, 
Nec  solum  bellis  utilis  ille  fuit. 

Fecit  et  in  capta  Lyrneside  magnus  Achilles, 

Cum  premeret  mollem  lassus  ab  hoste  torum. 

Illis  te  manibus  tangi,  Brisei,  sinebas, 

Imbutae  Phrygia  quae  nece  semper  erant. 

An  fuit  hoc  ipsum,  quod  te,  lasciva,  iuvaret. 

Ad  tua  victrices  membra  venire  manus  ? 

Crede  mihi,  non  est  veneris  properanda  voluptas, 
Sed  sensim  tarda  prolicienda  mora. 

Cum  loca  reppereris,  quae  tangi  femina  gaudet, 
Non  obstet,  tangas  quo  minus  illa,  pudor. 

Aspicies  oculos  tremulo  fulgore  micantes. 

Ut  sol  a  liquida  saepe  refulget  aqua. 

Accedent  questus,  accedet  amabile  murmur. 

Et  dulces  gemitus  aptaque  verba  ioco. 

Sed  neque  tu  dominam  velis  maioribus  usus 
Desine,  nec  cursus  anteat  illa  tuos  ; 

Ad  metam  properate  simul  :  tum  plena  voluptas, 
Cum  pariter  victi  femina  virque  iacent. 

Hic  tibi  versandus  tenor  est,  cum  libera  dantur 
Otia,  furtivum  nec  timor  urget  opus. 

Cum  mora  non  tuta  est,  totis  incumbere  remis 
Utile,  et  admisso  subdere  calcar  equo. 

Finis  adest  operi :  palmam  date,  grata  inventus. 
Sertaque  odoratae  myrtea  ferte  comae. 

Quantus  apud  Danaos  Podalirius  arte  medendi, 
Aeacides  dextra,  pectore  Nestor  erat, 

114 


705 

710 

715 

720 

725 

730 

735 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 


Lo  !  the  conscious  couch  has  received  two  lovers  : 
tarry^  O  Muse^  at  the  closed  door  of  their  chamber. 
Of  their  own  accord^  without  your  aid,  they  Avill 
utter  eloquent  speech,  nor  will  the  left  hand  lie  idle 
on  the  bed.  Their  fingers  will  find  what  to  do  in 
those  parts  where  Love  plies  his  weapons  unperceived. 
Most  valiant  Hector  of  old  did  thus  with  Andromache, 
nor  in  war  alone  did  he  avail.  Thus  did  the  great 
Achilles  with  the  Lyrnesian  captive,  when  weary 
from  the  foe  he  burdened  the  soft  couch.  By  those 
hands  didst  thou  suffer  thyself  to  be  touched,  Briseis, 
that  were  ever  imbued  in  Phrygian  blood ;  was  it 
this  very  thing,  wanton  one,  that  delighted  thee, 
that  a  conqueror’s  hands  should  caress  thy  limbs 
Believe  me,  love’s  bliss  must  not  be  hastened,  but 
gradually  lured  on  by  slow  delay.  When  you  have 
found  the  place  where  a  woman  loves  to  be  touched, 
let  not  shame  prevent  you  from  touching  it.  You 
will  see  her  eyes  shooting  tremulous  gleams,  as  the 
sun  often  glitters  in  clear  water.  Then  she  will 
complain,  then  she  will  lovingly  murmur,  and  sweetly 
sigh,  and  ntter  words  that  fit  the  sport.  But  neither 
do  you,  spreading  too  full  sail,  leave  your  mistress 
behind,  nor  let  her  outstrip  your  speed ;  haste  side 
by  side  to  the  goal  :  then  is  pleasure  full,  when  man 
and  woman  lie  vanquished  both  together.  This  is 
the  tenor  you  must  keep,  when  dallying  is  free,  and 
no  fear  urges  on  the  secret  work.  When  delay  is 
dangerous,  it  is  best  to  press  on  with  all  oars,  and  to 
spur  the  galloping  horse. 

My  task  is  finished  :  give  me  the  palm,  ye  grateful 
lovers,  and  bring  wreaths  of  myrtle  for  my  scented 
locks.  As  great  as  was  Podalirius  among  the  Greeks 
in  the  art  of  healing,  or  Aeacides  in  might  of  hand, 

IIS 


OVID 


Quantus  erat  Calchas  extis,  Telamonius  armis, 
Automedon  curru,  tantus  amator  ego. 

Me  vatem  celebrate,  viri,  mihi  dicite  laudes, 

Cantetur  toto  nomen  in  orbe  meum.  740 

Arma  dedi  vobis  :  dederat  Vulcanus  Achilli ; 

Vincite  muneribus,  vicit  ut  ille,  datis. 

Sed  quicumque  meo  superarit  Amazona  ferro, 

Inscribat  spoliis  “Naso  magister  erat.” 

Ecce,  rogant  tenerae,  sibi  dem  praecepta,  puellae  :  745 

Vos  eritis  chartae  proxima  cura  meae  ! 


1 16 


ART  OF  LOVE:  II 

or  Nestor  in  understanding,  as  great  as  Avas  Calchas 
at  the  sacrifice,  or  Telamon’s  son  in  arms,  or  Auto¬ 
medon  in  the  chariot,  so  great  a  lover  am  I.  Celebrate 
me,  the  prophet,  O  ye  men  ;  sing  my  praises,  let  my 
name  be  sung  in  all  the  world.  I  have  given  you 
armour;  Vulcan  gave  armour  to  Achilles;  do  ye 
conquer,  as  he  conquered,  by  virtue  of  the  gift. 
But  whosoever  shall  by  my  steel  lay  low  the  Amazon, 
let  him  inscribe  upon  his  spoils  Naso  was  my 
Master.” 

Lo  !  the  young  girls  are  begging  me  to  give  them 
counsel :  jou  will  be  my  poetry’s  next  care. 


117 


LIBER  TERTIUS 


Arma  dedi  Danais  in  Amazonas  ;  arma  supersunt. 

Quae  tibi  dem  et  turmae,  Penthesilea,  Uae. 

Ite  in  bella  pares ;  vincant,  quibus  alma  Dione 
Faverit  et  toto  qui  volat  orbe  puer. 

Non  erat  armatis  aequum  concurrere  nudas ;  6 

Sic  etiam  vobis  vincere  turpe,  viri. 

Dixerit  e  multis  aliquis  “  quid  virus  in  angues 
Adicis,  et  rabidae  tradis  ovile  lupae  ?  ” 

Parcite  paucarum  diffundere  crimen  in  omnes  ; 

Spectetur  meritis  quaeque  puella  suis.  10 

Si  minor  Atrides  Helenen,  Helenesque  sororem 
Quo  premat  Atrides  crimine  maior  habet. 

Si  scelere  Oeclides  Talaioniae  Eriphylae 
Vivus  et  in  vivis  ad  Styga  venit  equis. 

Est  pia  Penelope  lustris  errante  duobus  15 

Et  totidem  lustris  bella  gerente  viro. 

Respice  Phylaciden  et  quae  comes  isse  marito 
Fertur  et  ante  annos  occubuisse  suos. 

Fata  Pheretiadae  coniunx  Pagasaea  redemit  : 

Proque  viro  est  uxor  funere  lata  viri.  20 

“  Accipe  me,  Capaneu  !  cineres  miscebimus  ”  inquit 
Iphias,  in  medios  desiluitque  rogos. 

Ipsa  quoque  et  cultu  est  et  nomine  femina  Virtus  : 

Non  mirum,  populo  si  placet  illa  suo. 

^  Eriphyle  v/as  bribed  by  the  gift  of  a  necklace  to  send  her 
husband  Amphiaraus  to  the  war  against  Thebes,  in  which  he 
was  swallowed  up  alive. 

-  Protesilaus  and  Laodamia. 

^  Alcestis  and  Admetus. 

ii8 


BOOK  III 


I  HAVE  armed  the  Danai  against  the  Amazons  ;  there 
remain  arms  which  I  must  give  to  thee,  Penthesilea, 
and  to  thy  troop.  Go  into  battle  on  equal  terms  ;  let 
those  conquer  whom  kind  Dione  favours,  and  the 
boy  who  flies  o’er  all  the  world.  It  were  not  just 
that  defenceless  maids  should  fight  with  armed  men  ; 
such  a  victory,  O  men,  would  be  shameful  for  you 
also.  Some  one  or  other  may  say  to  me,  “  Why  do 
you  add  gall  to  serpents,  and  betray  the  sheepfold  to 
the  mad  she-wolf?”  Forbear  to  sjiread  over  all  the 
reproach  of  a  few;  let  each  woman  be  judged  on 
her  own  merits.  If  the  younger  son  of  Atreus  has  a 
charge  to  bring  against  Helen,  and  the  elder  against 
Helen’s  sister,  if  by  the  crime  of  Talaonian  Eriphyle 
Oeclides  went  to  Styx  alive  and  drawn  by  living 
steeds,^  yet  Penelope  is  chaste,  though  for  ten 
years  her  lord  was  wandering,  and  fighting  for  as 
many  years.  Consider  Phylacides  and  her  who  is 
said  to  have  accompanied  her  spouse,  and  to  have 
died  before  her  time.^  The  Pagasaean  consort  of 
Pheretiades  redeemed  his  fate,  and  in  her  husband’s 
funeral  his  wife  was  borne  in  her  husband’s  stead.® 
“  Take  me,  Capaneus ;  we  will  mingle  our  ashes,” 
cried  the  daughter  of  Iphis,^  and  leapt  into  the 
middle  of  the  pyre.  Virtue  too  herself  is  by  dress  ® 
and  name  a  woman  ;  no  wonder  if  she  please  her  own 

^  Ev^adne. 

®  Virtue  is  commonly  represented  as  modestly  dressed  in 
white,  as  in  Xenophon,  Mem.  2,  1.  22. 


119 


OVID 


Nec  tamen  hae  mentes  nostra  poscuntur  ab  arte  ;  25 

Conveniunt  cumbae  vela  minora  meae. 

Nil  nisi  lascivi  per  me  discuntur  amores  ; 

Femina  praecipiam  quo  sit  amanda  modo. 

Femina  nec  flammas  nec  saevos  excutit  arcus  ; 

Parcius  haec  video  tela  nocere  viris.  30 

Saepe  viri  fallunt  :  tenerae  non  saepe  puellae, 

Paucaque,  si  quaeras,  crimina  fraudis  habent. 

Phasida,  iam  matrem  fallax  dimisit  Iaso  : 

Venit  in  Aesonios  altera  nupta  sinus. 

Quantum  in  te,  Theseu,  volucres  Ariadna  marinas  35 
Pavit,  in  ignoto  sola  relicta  loco  ! 

Quaere,  novem  cur  una  viae  dicantur,  et  audi 
Depositis  silvas  Phyllida  flesse  comis. 

Et  famam  pietatis  habet,  tamen  hospes  et  ensem 

Praebuit  et  causam  mortis,  Elissa,  tuae.  40 

Quid  vos  perdiderit,  dicam  ?  nescistis  amare  : 

Defuit  ars  vobis  ;  arte  perennat  amor. 

Nunc  quoque  nescirent  :  sed  me  Cytherea  docere 
I  ussit,  et  ante  oculos  constitit  ipsa  meos. 

Tum  mihi  “  Quid  miserae  ”  dixit  “  meruere  puellae  ?  45 
Traditur  armatis  vulgus  inei’me  viris. 

Illos  artifices  gemini  fecere  libelli  : 

Haec  quoque  pars  monitis  erudienda  tuis. 

Probra  Therapnaeae  qui  dixerat  ante  maritae, 

Mox  cecinit  laudes  prosperiore  lyra.  50 

Si  bene  te  novi  (cultas  ne  laede  puellas  !) 

Gratia,  dum  vives,  ista  petenda  tibi  est.” 

33  Phasida  iam  edd. :  Phasideam  MSS. 

37  una  viae  lleinsiua  :  una  vice  B  :  isse  vias  dicatur  MSS, 


120 


^  Jason  deserted  Medea  for  Creusa. 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


folk.  Yet  sucli  minds  are  not  demanded  by  my  art ; 
smaller  sails  become  my  bark.  Naught  save  wanton 
loves  are  learnt  through  me ;  I  will  teach  in  what 
way  a  woman  is  to  be  loved.  A  woman  wields 
neither  flames  nor  savage  bows :  seldom  do  I  see 
these  weapons  hurting  men.  Often  do  men  deceive^ 
tender  maids  not  often ;  should  you  inquire^  they 
are  rarely  charged  with  deceit.  Perfidious  Jason 
sent  away  the  Phasian,  already  a  mother  ■  another 
bride  came  to  the  bosom  of  Aeson’s  son.^  So  far  as 
concerned  thee,  O  Theseus,  Ariadne  fell  a  prey  to 
the  sea-birds,  left  desolate  in  an  unknown  spot !  Ask 
why  one  way  is  called  Nine  Ways,^  and  hear  how 
the  woods  shed  their  leaves  and  wailed  for  Phyllis. 
Famed  too  is  he  ®  for  piety,  yet  thy  guest,  Elissa,  gave 
thee  both  a  sword  and  the  cause  of  thy  destruction. 
Shall  I  tell  what  led  you  all  to  ruin  ?  ye  knew  not 
how  to  love  ;  it  was  skill  ye  lacked ;  skill  makes  love 
unending.  Would  that  now  too  they  knew  not ! 
but  Cytherea  bade  me  teach  them,  and  stood  her¬ 
self  before  my  eyes.  Then  she  said,  “What  have 
poor  women  deserved  ?  their  defenceless  throng  is 
surrendered  to  armed  men.  These  have  two  poems 
taught  the  craft  :  those  too  must  be  instructed  by 
your  counsels.  He  who  first  abused  the  Therapnean 
consort  soon  sang  her  praises  on  a  more  pi'osperous 
lyre  ;  *  if  I  know  you  well  (harm  not  the  cultured  fair  !), 
so  long  as  you  live  you  must  seek  their  favour.  She 

2  Phyllis  ran  nine  times  to  the  sea  when  Demophoon  did 
not  come  to  her.  Hence  the  name  of  the  place  ’Ewea  oSoi, 
afterwards  Amphipolis. 

®  i.e.  Aeneas.  ,  ■  i 

*  Stesichorus  is  referred  to  :  Therapnae  was  the  birthplace 

of  Helen. 


I2I 


OVID 


Dixit,  et  e  myrto  (myrto  nam  vincta  capillos 
Constiterat)  folium  granaque  pauca  dedit ; 

Sensimus  acceptis  numen  quoque  :  purior  aether  56 
Fulsit,  et  e  toto  pectore  cessit  onus. 

Dum  facit  ingenium,  petite  hinc  praecepta,  puellae. 
Quas  pudor  et  leges  et  sua  iura  sinunt. 

V  enturae  memores  iam  nunc  estote  senectae  : 

Sic  nullum  vobis  tempus  abibit  iners.  60 

Dum  licet,  et  vernos  etiamnum  educitis  annos. 

Ludite  ;  eunt  anni  more  fluentis  aquae  ; 

Nec  quae  praeteriit,  iterum  revocabitur  unda. 

Nec  quae  praeteriit,  hora  redire  potest. 

Utendum  est  aetate  :  cito  pede  labitur  aetas,  65 

Nec  bona  tam  sequitur,  quam  bona  prima  fuit. 

Hos  ego,  qui  canent,  frutices  violaria  vidi  : 

Hac  mihi  de  spina  grata  corona  data  est. 

Tempus  erit,  quo  tu,  quae  nunc  excludis  amantes. 
Frigida  deserta  nocte  iacebis  anus,  70 

Nec  tua  frangetur  nocturna  ianua  rixa. 

Sparsa  nec  invenies  limina  mane  rosa. 

Quam  cito  (me  miserum !)  laxantur  corpora  rugis. 

Et  perit  in  nitido  qui  fuit  ore  color. 

Quasque  fuisse  tibi  canas  a  virgine  iuras,  75 

Spargentur  subito  per  caput  omne  comae. 

Anguibus  exuitur  tenui  cum  pelle  vetustas. 

Nec  faciunt  cervos  cornua  iacta  senes  : 

Nostra  sine  auxilio  fugiunt  bona ;  carpite  florem. 

Qui,  nisi  carptus  erit,  turpiter  ipse  cadet.  80 

Adde,  quod  et  partus  faciunt  breviora  iuventae 
Tempora  :  continua  messe  senescit  as-er 

O 

61  vernos  ffeinsius ;  veros  educitis  I/ousman  :  editis  J/5S 
(loith  etiamnunc). 


1  The  phrase  seems  to  imply  that  only  women  of  a  certain 

122 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


spoke,  and  from  her  myrtle  (for  she  stood  with 
myrtle  binding  her  hair)  she  gave  me  a  leaf  and  a 
few  berries ;  as  I  took  them  I  felt  too  their  power 
divine,  heaven  shone  with  purer  light,  and  my  heart 
was  relieved  of  all  its  burden.  While  she  inspires 
me,  seek  here  the  precepts,  O  women,  which 
propi'iety  and  the  laws  and  your  own  rights  allow.^ 
Now  already  be  mindful  of  the  old  age  which  is  to 
come ;  thus  no  hour  will  slip  wasted  from  you. 
While  you  can,  and  still  are  in  your  spring-time,  have 
your  sport ;  for  the  years  pass  like  flowing  water  ;  the 
wave  that  has  gone  by  cannot  be  called  back,  the 
hour  that  has  gone  by  cannot  return.  You  must 
employ  your  time  :  time  glides  on  with  speedy  foot, 
nor  is  that  which  follows  so  good  as  that  which 
went  before.  These  plants,  now  withering,  I  saw  as 
violet-beds ;  from  this  thorn  was  a  pleasing  garland 
given  me.  That  day  will  come  when  you,  who  now 
shut  out  your  lovers,  will  lie,  a  cold  and  lonely  old 
woman,  through  the  night ;  nor  will  your  door  be 
broken  in  a  nightly  bi’awl,  nor  will  you  find  your 
threshold  strewn  with  roses  in  the  morning.  How 
quickly,  ah,  me !  is  the  body  furrowed  by  wrinkles, 
and  the  colour  fled  that  once  was  in  that  lovely  face  ! 
And  the  white  hairs  that  you  swear  have  been  there 
since  maidenhood  will  suddenly  be  scattered  over  all 
your  head.  Serpents  put  off  their  age  with  their  frail 
skins,  nor  are  stags  made  old  by  casting  their  horns  : 
our  charms  flee  without  our  aid ;  pluck  the  flower, 
which  save  it  be  plucked  will  basely  wither.  Be¬ 
sides,  childbirth  shortens  the  period  of  youth  :  a  field 
groAvs  old  by  continual  harvesting.  Latmian  ^  Endy- 

class  are  meant,  i.e.  the  demi-monde,  to  whom  the  law 
allowed  certain  recognised  privileges. 

^  Latmus  was  a  mountain  in  Caria. 


123 


OVID 


Latmius  Endymion  non  est  tibi^  Luna^  rubori ; 

Nec  Cephalus  roseae  praeda  pudenda  deae. 

Ut  Veneri,  quem  luget  adhuc,  donetur  Adonis  :  85 

Unde  habet  Aenean  Harmoniamque  suos  ? 

Ite  per  exemplum,  genus  o  mortale,  dearum. 

Gaudia  nec  cupidis  vestra  negate  viris. 

Ut  iam  decipiant,  quid  perditis  ?  omnia  constant ; 

Mille  licet  sumant,  deperit  inde  nihil.  90 

Conteritur  ferrum,  silices  tenuantur  ab  usu  : 

Sufficit,  et  damni  pars  caret  illa  metu. 

Quis  vetet  adposito  lumen  de  lumine  sumi  ? 

Quisve  cavo  vastas  in  mare  servet  aquas  ? 

Et  tamen  ulla  viro  mulier  non  expedit  ”  inquit  ?  95 

Quid,  nisi  quam  sumes,  dic  mihi,  perdis  aquam  ? 

Nec  v«s  prostituit  mea  vox,  sed  vana  timere 
Damna  vetat :  damnis  munera  vestra  carent. 

Sed  me  flaminibus  venti  maioris  iturum,  ” 

Dum  sumus  in  portu,  provehat  aura  levis.  100 

Ordior  a  cultu  ;  cultis  bene  Liber  ab  uvis 
Provenit,  et  culto  stat  seges  alta  solo. 

Forma  dei  munus  :  forma  quota  quaeque  superbit? 

Pars  vestrum  tali  munere  magna  caret. 

Cura  dabit  faciem  ;  facies  neglecta  peribit, 

Idaliae  similis  sit  licet  illa  deae. 

Corpora  si  veteres  non  sig  coluere  puellae, 

Nee  veteres  cultos  sic  habuere  viros ; 

Si  fuit  Andromache  tunicas  induta  valentes. 

Quid  mirum  ?  duri  militis  uxor  erat. 

Scilicet  Aiaci  coniunx  ornata  venires. 

Cui  tegumen  septem  terga  fuere  boum  ? 


1  Aurora,  by  whom  he  was  the  father  of  Tithonus. 

“  Anchises  was  the  father  of  Aeneas  :  Mars,  of  Harmonia. 


105 


no 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


mion  brings  no  blush  to  thee,  O  Moon,  nor  is  Cepha¬ 
lus  a  prize  that  shames  the  roseate  goddess  ^  ;  though 
Adonis,  whom  she  mourns,  be  granted  to  Venus, 
whence  has  she  her  Aeneas  and  Harmonia  ?  ^  Study, 
ye  mortal  folk,  the  examples  of  the  goddesses,  nor 
deny  your  joys  to  hungry  lovers.  Though  they  at 
last  deceive  you,  what  do  you  lose  ?  those  joys  abide  ; 
though  they  take  a  thousand  pleasures,  naught  is  lost 
therefrom.  Iron  is  worn  away,  and  flints  are  dimi¬ 
nished  by  use ;  that  part  endures,  and  has  no  fear  of 
loss.  What  forbids  to  take  light  from  a  light  that  is 
set  before  you,  or  who  would  guard  vast  waters  upon 
the  cavernous  deep  ?  And  yet  does  any  woman  say 
to  a  man,  'Ht  is  not  expedient  ®  tell  me,  what  are 
you  doing,  save  wasting  the  water  thaCyou  will 
draw?  Nor  do  my  words  make  you  vile,  but  forbid 
you  to  fear  unreal  loss ;  there  is  no  loss  in  your 
giving.  But  though  the  blasts  of  a  stronger  wind 
will  soon  impel  me,  while  I  am  still  in  harbour,  let 
a  light  breeze  bear  me  on. 

I  begin  with  the  body’s  care :  from  grapes  well 
cared  for  Liber  gives  good  vintage,  on  well-cared-for 
soil  the  crops  stand  high.  Beauty  is  heaven’s  gift : 
how  few  can  boast  of  beauty  !  A  great  part  of  you 
lack  a  gift  so  precious.  Care  will  give  good  looks : 
looks  neglected  go  to  waste  though  they  resemble 
the  Idalian  goddess.  If  women  of  old  did  not  so 
cultivate  their  bodie§,  the  women  of  old  had  not 
lovers  so  cultivated ;  if  Andromache  was  clad  in  a 
stout  tunic,  what  wonder  ?  she  was  a  hardy  soldier’s 
wife.  What?  would  you  come  arrayed  like  the 
spouse  of  Ajax,  whose  protection  was  seven  oxen’s 

®  For  a  woman  to  give  herself  to  a  man  is  no  more 
wasteful  than  taking  a  light  from  a  torch,  or  using  water 
when  it  is  needed.  In  fact,  not  to  do  so  is  itself  a  waste. 

’25 


OVID 


Simplicitas  rudis  ante  fuit :  nunc  aurea  Roma  est. 

Et  domiti  magnas  possidet  orbis  opes. 

Aspice  quae  nunc  sunt  Capitolia,  quaeque  fuerunt :  115 
Alterius  dices  illa  fuisse  lovis. 

Curia  concilio  nunc  est  dignissima  tanto  ; 

De  stipula  Tatio  regna  tenente  fuit. 

Quae  nunc  sub  Phoebo  ducibusque  Palatia  fulgent, 

Quid  nisi  araturis  pascua  bubus  erant  ?  120 

Prisca  invent  alios  :  ego  me  nunc  denique  natum 
Gratulor  :  haec  aetas  moribus  apta  meis. 

Non  quia  nunc  terrae  lentum  subducitur  aurum. 
Lectaque  diverso  littore  concha  venit  : 

Nec  quia  decrescunt  effosso  marmore  montes,  125 

Nec  quia  caeruleae  mole  fugantur  aquae  : 

Sed  quia  cultus  adest,  nec  nostros  mansit  in  annos 
Rusticitas,  priscis  illa  superstes  avis. 

Vos  quoque  non  caris  aures  onerate  lapillis. 

Quos  legit  in  viridi  decolor  Indus  aqua,  130 

Nec  prodite  graves  insuto  vestibus  auro. 

Per  quas  nos  petitis,  saepe  fugatis,  opes. 

Munditiis  capimur  :  non  sint  sine  lege  capilli : 

Admotae  formam  dantque  negantque  manus. 

Nec  genus  ornatus  unum  est ;  quod  quamque  decebit 
Elegat,  et  speculum  consulat  ante  suum.  136 

Longa  probat  facies  capitis  discrimina  puri  : 

Sic  erat  ornatis  Laodamia  comis. 

Exiguum  summa  nodum  sibi  fr#nte  relinqui. 

Ut  pateant  aures,  ora  rotunda  volunt.  140 


^  The  Temple  of  Apollo  on  the  Palatine  and  tlie  palace  of 
Augustus  himself  there  are  alluded  to. 

^  It  is  not  luxury  or  the  rage  for  building,  both  highly 

126 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


hides  ?  There  was  rude  siinplieity  of  old,  but  now 
golden  Rome  possesses  the  vast  wealth  of  the  con¬ 
quered  world.  See  what  the  Capitol  is  now,  and 
what  it  was  :  you  would  say  they  belonged  to  different 
Jupiters.  The  senate-house  now  is  most  worthy  of 
so  august  a  gathering :  when  Tatius  held  the  rule  it 
was  made  of  wattles.  The  Palatine  ^  whereon  now 
Phoebus  and  our  chieftains  are  set  in  splendour,  what 
was  it  save  the  pasture  of  oxen  destined  to  the 
plough  ?  Let  ancient  times  delight  other  folk :  I 
congratulate  myself  that  I  was  not  born  till  now ; 
this  age  fits  my  nature  well.  Not  because  now 
stubborn  gold  is  drawn  from  out  the  earth,  and  shells 
come  gathered  from  divers  shores,  nor  because 
mountains  diminish  as  the  marble  is  dug  from  them, 
nor  because  masonry  puts  to  flight  the  dark-blue 
waters  ;  but  because  culture  ^  is  with  us,  and  rusticity, 
which  survived  until  our  grandsires,  has  not  lasted  to 
our  days. 

You  too  burden  not  your  ears  with  precious 
stones,  which  the  discoloured  Indian  gathers  from 
the  green  water,  and  come  not  forth  weighed  down 
with  the  gold  sewn  upon  your  garments ;  the  wealth 
wherewith  you  seek  us  ofttimes  repels.  ’Tis  with 
elegance  we  are  caught :  let  not  your  locks  be  lawless : 
a  touch  of  the  hand  can  give  or  deny  beauty.  Nor 
is  there  but  one  form  of  adornment :  let  each  choose 
what  becomes  her,  and  take  counsel  before  her  own 
mirror.  An  oval  face  prefers  a  parting  upon  the  head 
left  unadorned :  the  tresses  of  Laodamia  were  so 
arranged.  Round  faces  would  fain  have  a  small 
knot  left  on  top  of  the  head,  so  that  the  ears  show. 

characteristic  of  the  time,  that  Ovid  admires,  but  “culture,” 
i.e.  refinement,  manners,  cultivated  society. 


127 


OVID 


Alterius  crines  umero  iactentur  utroque  : 

Talis  es  adsumpta,  Phoebe  canore,  lyra. 

Altera  succinctae  religetur  more  Dianae, 

Ut  solet,  attonitas  cum  petit  illa  feras. 

Huic  decet  inflatos  laxe  iacuisse  capillos  :  145 

Illa  sit  adstrictis  impedienda  comis ; 

Hanc  placet  ornari  testudine  Cyllenea  : 

Sustineat  similes  fluctibus  illa  sinus. 

Sed  neque  ramosa  numerabis  in  ilice  glandes. 

Nec  quot  apes  Hyblae,  nec  quot  in  Alpe  ferae,  150 
Nec  mihi  tot  positus  numero  conprendere  fas  est : 

Adicit  ornatus  proxima  quaeque  dies. 

Et  neglecta  decet  multas  coma ;  saepe  iacere 
Hesternam  credas  ;  illa  repexa  modo  est. 

Ars  casu  similis  ;  sic  capta  vidit  ut  urbe  155 

Alcides  Iolen,  “  hanc  ego  ”  dixit  “amo.” 

Talem  te  Bacchus,  satyris  clamantibus  euhoe 
Sustulit  in  currus,  Gnosi  relicta,  suos. 

O  quantum  indulget  vestro  natura  decori. 

Quarum  sunt  multis  damna  pianda  modis  !  160 

Nos  male  detegimur,  raptique  aetate  capilli. 

Ut  borea  frondes  excutiente,  cadunt. 

Femina  canitiem  Germanis  inficit  herbis. 

Et  melior  vero  quaeritur  arte  color  ; 

Femina  procedit  densissima  crinibus  emptis,  165 

Proque  suis  alios  efficit  aere  suos. 

Nec  rubor  est  emisse  ;  palam  venire  videmus 
Herculis  ante  oculos  virgineumque  chorum. 


*  It  was  discovered  by  Mercury,  who  was  born  on  Mt.  Cyllene 
in  Arcadia,  and  made  into  a  lyre. 

^  i.e.  herbs  brought  from  Germany,  where  they  were  used  to 
make  a  sort  of  soap  or  dye,  which  dyed  the  hair  a  blonde  colour  ; 
cf.  Mart.  8.  83.  20,  “et  mutat  Latias  spuma  Batava  comas.” 

128 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


Let  another  s  locks  hang  down  on  either  shoulder  ; 
thus  art  thou,  tuneful  Phoebus,  when  thou  hast 
taken  up  thy  lyre.  Let  another  braid  her  hair  like 
girt-up  Dian,  as  she  is  wont  to  be  when  she  hunts 
the  frightened  beasts.  This  one  it  beseems  to  let 
her  waving  locks  lie  loose ;  to  that  one  her  tight- 
diawn  tresses  should  be  a  hindrance  ;  this  one  is 
pleased  by  the  adornment  of  the  Cyllenian  ^  tortoise¬ 
shell  •  let  that  one  bear  folds  that  resemble  waves. 
But  you  will  not  count  the  acorns  on  the  oak’s 
numerous  boughs,  nor  how  many  bees  there  are  in 
Hybla,  nor  wild  beasts  upon  the  Alps;  nor  can  I 
enumerate  all  the  fashions  that  there  are  :  each  day 
adds  more  adornments.  Even  neglected  hair  is 
becoming  to  many;  often  you  would  think  it  lay 
loose  from  yesterday ;  this  very  moment  it  has  been 
combed  afresh.  Art  counterfeits  chance ;  when 
Alcides  beheld  lole  thus  in  the  captured  city,  he 
said,  “^^Tliis  is  the  woman  I  love.”  Thus  wert  thou, 
deserted  Gnosian,  when  Bacchus  lifted  thee  to  his 
car,  and  the  Satyrs  cried  “Hurrah  !  ”  Ah,  how  kind 
is  nature  to  your  beauty,  you  whose  defects  may  be 
made  good  in  so  many  ways !  We  are  shamefully 
left  bare  and,  carried  away  by  time,  our  hairs  fall,  as 
when  Boreas  shakes  down  the  leaves.  A  woman 
stains  her  whitening  locks  with  German  juices,^  and 
by  skill  seeks  a  hue  better  than  the  real ;  a  woman 
walks  ’neath  a  burden  of  purchased  tresses,  and 
money  buys  new  locks  for  old.  Nor  does  she  blush 
to  buy:  publicly  do  we  see  them  sold  before  the 
eyes  of  Hercules  and  the  Virgin  band.®  What  shall 

^  Temple  of  Hercules  and  the  Muses  in  the  Circus,  built 
by  Fulvius  Nobilior  189,  renewed  by  Marcius  Philippus,  the 
step-father  of  Octavia. 

129 

K 


OVID 


Quid  de  veste  loquar?  Nec  nunc  segmenta  requiro 
Nec  quae  de  Tyrio  murice  lana  rubes.  170 

Cum  tot  prodierint  pretio  leviore  colores. 

Quis  furor  est  census  corpore  ferre  suos ! 

Aeris,  ecce,  color,  tum  cum  sine  nubibus  aer. 

Nec  tepidus  pluvias  concitat  auster  aquas  : 

Ecce,  tibi  similis,  quae  quondam  Phrixon  et  Hellen  175 
-  Diceris  Inois  eripuisse  dolis  ; 

Hic  undas  imitatur,  habet  quoque  nomen  ab  undis  : 

Crediderim  nymphas  hac  ego  veste  tegi. 

Ille  crocum  simulat :  croceo  velatur  amictu. 

Roscida  luciferos  cum  dea  iungit  equos  :  180 

Hic  Paphias  myrtos,  hic  purpureas  amethystos, 
Albentesve  rosas,  Threiciamve  gruem  ; 

Nec  glandes,  Amarylli,  tuae,  nec  amygdala  desunt ; 

Et  sua  velleribus  nomina  cera  dedit. 

Quot  nova  terra  parit  flores,  cum  vere  tepenti  185 

Vitis  agit  gemmas  pigraque  fugit  hiemps. 

Lana  tot  aut  plures  sucos  bibit ;  elige  certos  ; 

Nam  non  conveniens  omnibus  omnis  erit. 

Pulla  decent  niveas  :  Briseida  pulla  decebant : 

Cum  rapta  est,  pulla  tum  quoque  veste  fuit.  190 

Alba  decent  fuscas  :  albis,  Cephei,  placebas  : 

Sic  tibi  vestitae  pressa  Seriphos  erat. 

Quam  paene  admonui,  ne  trux  caper  iret  in  alas, 

Neve  forent  duris  aspera  crura  pilis  ! 


^  Bands  of  stuff  heavily  embroidered  or  inlaid  with  gold,  and 
sewn  on  the  dresses. 

^  The  colours  seem  to  be :  173  sky-blue  ;  175  golden,  the 
colour  of  the  Bam  with  the  Golden  Fleece  (though  Ovid 
speaks  of  it  in  the  feminine  gender) ;  177  either  green-grey 
(“glaucus")  or  water-blue  (“cumatilis");  179  saffron;  181 
green,  amethyst,  white,  grey ;  183  chestnut-brown,  pink  (?), 
yellow  like  wax  (“cerina”  means  a  garment  of  this  colour). 

130 


ART  OF  LOVE;  III 


I  say  of  clothes  ?  flounces/  I  need  you  not,  nor  the 
wool  that  blushes  twice  with  Tyrian  dye.  When  so 
many  cheaper  colours  walk  abroad,  what  madness  to 
carry  whole  incomes  on  one’s  body  !  Lo  !  2  there  is 
the  colour  of  the  sky,  when  the  sky  is  cloudless,  and 
warm  Auster  brings  no  rainy  showers ;  lo,  here  is 
one  like  thee,  who  once  art  said  to  have  rescued 
Phrixus  and  Helle  from  Ino’s  wiles ;  this  colour 
imitates  water,  and  from  water  has  its  name :  in  this 
raiment  1  could  think  the  Nymphs  were  clad.  That 
colour  counterfeits  saffron;  in  saffron  robe  is  the 
dewy  goddess  veiled,  when  she  yokes  her  light¬ 
bringing  steeds  ;  this  has  the  hue  of  Paphian  myrtle, 
that,  of  purple  amethysts,  these  of  white  roses  and 
of  Thracian  cranes ;  nor,  Amaryllis,  are  thy  chestnuts 
lacking,  nor  yet  almonds ;  and  wax  has  given  to 
fleeces  its  own  name.  As  many  as  are  the  flowers 
that  the  new-born  earth  produces,  when  the  vine  in 
warm  spring  urges  forth  its  buds,  and  sluggish  winter 
is  fled,  so  many  dyes  and  more  does  the  wool  drink 
up  j  choose  those  that  are  sure  to  please,  for  not 
every  one  suits  every  woman.  Snow-white  skins 
like  dark  grey  colours,  dark  grey  became  Briseis; 
even  when  she  was  carried  off  was  her  robe  dark 
grey.  Those  dark  of  hue  like  white ;  in  white 
didst  thou  please,  Cepheis  ;  ^  for  thee  thus  clad  was 
Seriphos  oppressed. 

How  nearly  did  I  warn  you  that  no  rude  goat 
find  his  way  beneath  your  arms,  and  that  your  legs 
be  not  rough  with  bristling  hairs  !  But  I  am  not 

For  Amaryllis  cf.  Bk.  ii.  1.  267,  where  he  quotes  from  Virgil, 
Eel.  2.  52. 

®  Andromeda,  because  of  whose  beauty  the  island  of 
Seriphos  was  oppressed  through  the  jealousy  of  the  gods. 

131 


OVID 


Sed  non  Caucasea  doceo  de  rupe  puellas. 

Quaeque  bibant  undas,  Myse  Caice,  tuas. 

Quid,  si  praecipiam,  ne  fuscet  inertia  dentes. 

Oraque  suscepta  mane  laventur  aqua  ? 

Scitis  et  inducta  candorem  quaerere  creta  ; 

Sanguine  quae  vero  non  rubet,  arte  rubet. 

Arte  supercilii  confinia  nuda  repletis. 

Parvaque  sinceras  velat  aluta  genas. 

Nec  pudor  est  oculos  tenui  signare  favilla. 

Vel  prope  te  nato,  lucide  Cydne,  croco. 

Est  mihi,  quo  dixi  vestrae  medicamina  formae. 

Parvus,  sed  cura  grande,  libellus,  opus  ; 

Hinc  quoque  praesidium  laesae  petitote  figurae  ; 

Non  est  pro  vestris  ars  mea  rebus  iners. 

Non  tamen  expositas  mensa  deprendat  amator 

Pyxidas  :  ars  faciem  dissimulata  iuvat.  210 

Quem  non  offendat  toto  faex  inlita  vultu. 

Cum  fluit  in  tepidos  pondere  lapsa  sinus  } 

Oesypa  quid  redolent  ?  quamvis  mittatur  Athenis 
Demptus  ab  inmundo  vellere  sucus  ovis. 

Nec  coram  mixtas  cervae  sumpsisse  medullas,  215 

Nec  coram  dentes  defricuisse  probem  ; 

Ista  dabunt  formam,  sed  erunt  deformia  visu : 

Multaque,  dum  fiunt,  turpia,  facta  placent ; 

Quae  nunc  nomen  habent  operosi  signa  Myronis 

Pondus  iners  quondam  duraque  massa  fuit ;  220 


195 


200 


205 


^  The  i-eading  “creta”  is  much  to  be  preferred  to  “cera,” 
wax.  It  is  obviously  powder  he  is  thinking  of.  The  next  line 
clearly  refers  to  rouge. 

^  Some  ingredients  are  mentioned  by  Pliny,  e.g.  bears’  fat 
and  lamp-black  (28.  46),  ants’  eggs  and  squashed  flies  (30.  46) ; 
Tertullian  mentions  soot  {De  Cult.  Fern.  1.  2,  2.  5),  also 
Petronius  126. 

“  For  the  eyebrows  cf.  Juv.  2.  93,  where  soot  is  spoken  of; 
132 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


teaching  girls  from  the  cliffs  of  Caucasus,  nor  such  as 
drink  thy  waters,  Mysian  Caicus.  Why  should  I 
enjoin  that  no  laziness  leave  the  teeth  to  darken, 
and  that  hands  should  be  washed  with  water  in  the 
morning?  You  know,  too,  how  to  gain  a  bright  hue 
by  applying  powder  :  ^  art  gives  complexion  if  real 
blood  gives  it  not.  By  art  ^  you  fill  up  the  bare 
confines  of  the  eyebrow,  and  a  tiny  patch  veils 
cheeks  without  a  blemish.^  Nor  are  you  ashamed 
to  mark  your  eyes  with  powdery  ash,  or  with  saffron 
born  near  thee,  O  shining  Cydnus.^  I  have  a  book,®  a 
small  work,  but  great  in  the  pains  it  cost  me,  wherein 
I  have  told  of  the  paints  that  will  make  you  beauti¬ 
ful  ;  from  it  too  seek  means  to  rescue  impaired 
beauty :  my  art  is  no  sluggard  in  your  behalf.  Y et 
let  no  lover  find  the  boxes  set  out  upon  the  table  ; 
your  looks  are  aided  by  dissembled  art.  Who  would 
not  be  offended  by  paint  smeared  over  all  the  face, 
when  it  flows  with  ponderous  glide  into  the  warm 
bosom  ?  How  strong  is  the  smell  of  oil  of  wool, 
though  from  Athens  be  sent  the  juices  drawn  from 
a  sheep’s  unwashed  fleece  !  ®  Nor  should  I  approve 
your  openly  taking  the  mixed  marrow  of  a  hind,  or 
cleaning  your  teeth  for  all  to  see;  such  things  will 
give  beauty,  but  they  will  be  unseemly  to  look  on  : 
many  things,  base  in  the  doing,  please  when  done  ; 
the  statues  of  industrious  Myron  that  now  are  famous 
W'ere  once  a  hard  mass  and  lifeless  weight ;  gold 

“aluta,”  skin  or  leather  treated  with  alum  is  usually  called 
‘  ‘  splenium.” 

*  A  river  in  Cilicia. 

'■  De  Medicamine  Faciei  Femineae. 

®  ‘  ‘  Oesypum  ”  was  a  cosmetic  prepared  from  the  sweat 
and  dii’t  in  the  wool  of  a  sheep  ;  the  best  is  said  to  have 
come  from  Attica. 


133 


OVID 


Anulus  ut  fiat,  primo  conliditur  aurum  ; 

Quas  geritis  vestis,  sordida  lana  fuit ; 

Cum  fieret,  lapis  asper  erat  :  nunc,  nobile  signum. 

Nuda  Venus  madidas  exprimit  imbre  coma?. 

Tu  quoque  dum  coleris,  nos  te  dormire  putemus  ;  225 

Aptius  a  summa  conspiciere  manu. 

Cur  mihi  nota  tuo  causa  est  candoris  in  ore  ? 

Claude  forem  thalami !  quid  rude  prodis  opus? 

Multa  viros  nescire  decet ;  pars  maxima  rerum 

Offendat,  si  non  interiora  tegas.  230 

Aurea  quae  splendent  ornato  signa  theatro. 

Inspice,  quam  tenuis  bractea  ligna  tegat  : 

Sed  neque  ad  illa  licet  populo,  nisi  facta,  venire; 

Nec  nisi  summotis  forma  paranda  viris. 

At  non  pectendos  coram  praebere  capillos,  233 

Ut  iaceant  fusi  per  tua  terga,  veto. 

Illo  praecipue  ne  sis  morosa  caveto 

Tempore,  nec  lapsas  saepe  resolve  comas. 

Tuta  sit  ornatrix  ;  odi,  quae  sauciat  ora 

Unguibus,  et  rapta  brachia  figit  acu.  240 

Devovet,  ut  tangit  dominae  caput  illa,  simulque 
Plorat  in  invisas  sanguinolenta  comas. 

Quae  male  crinita  est,  custodem  in  limine  ponat, 
Orneturve  Eonae  semper  in  aede  deae. 

Dictus  eram  subito  cuidam  venisse  puellae  :  245 

Turbida  perversas  induit  illa  comas. 

Hostibus  eveniat  tam  foedi  causa  pudoris, 

Inque  nurus  Parthas  dedecus  illud  eat. 

Turpe  pecus  mutilum,  turpis  sine  gramine  campus. 

Et  sine  fronde  frutex,  et  sine  crine  caput.  250 

228  prodis  some  3ISS, :  cogis  li. 

231  splendent  Burmann  :  pendent  MSS. 

^  The  well-known  tj^pe  of  Venus  Anadyomene,  i.e.  “risino- 
from  the  sea.”  ® 

134 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


is  first  crushed  that  it  may  become  a  ring ;  the 
gowns  you  wear  were  once  filthy  wool;  your  jewel 
was  rough  when  being  shaped :  now  it  is  a  noble 
gem,  whereon  naked  Venus  is  wringing  her  spray- 
drenched  tressesA  So  while  you  are  at  your  toilet 
let  us  think  that  you  are  asleep;  it  is  more  fitting 
you  should  be  seen  when  the  last  touch  has  been 
given.  Why  must  I  know  the  cause  of  the  white¬ 
ness  of  your  cheek  ?  Shut  your  chamber  door  :  why 
show  the  unfinished  work  ?  There  is  much  that  it 
befits  men  not  to  know ;  most  of  your  doings  would 
offend,  did  you  not  hide  them  within.  Those  images 
that  shine  all  golden  in  the  decorated  theatre,  see 
how  thin  the  gold  leaf  that  conceals  the  wood ;  but 
neither  may  the  people  come  nigh  them,  till  complete, 
nor  save  when  men  are  absent  should  beauty  be  con¬ 
trived.  Yet  I  forbid  you  not  to  let  your  locks  be 
combed  before  them,  so  that  they  lie  rippling  adown 
your  back  :  at  that  time,  especially,  beware  of  being 
ill-tempered,  nor  often  unbind  your  fallen  tresses. 
Let  the  tiring-woman  be  safe ;  I  hate  her  who  tears 
with  her  nails  her  handmaid’s  face,  or  seizing  a 
needle  stabs  her  arms.  That  maid  curses,  as  she 
touches  it,  her  mistress’  head,  and  weeps  the  while, 
bloodstained,  over  the  hated  locks.  Let  her  who 
has  poor  hair  set  a  guard  at  her  door,  or  always  be 
tired  in  the  temple  of  the  Good  Goddess.^  My 
arrival  was  suddenly  announced  to  a  woman  once  ; 
in  confusion  she  put  her  hair  on  all  awry.  Let  my 
foes  endure  a  cause  of  shame  so  fearful  !  upon 
Parthian  women  let  that  dishonour  fall !  Ugly  is 
a  bull  without  horns ;  ugly  is  a  field  without  grass, 
a  plant  without  leaves,  or  a  head  without  hair, 

^  i.e.  where  no  men  may  come. 

135 


OVID 


Non  mihi  venistis^  Semele  Ledeve,  docendae, 

Perque  fretum  falso,  Sidoni,  vecta  bove. 

Aut  Helene,  quam  non  stulte,  Menelae,  rejmscis. 

Tu  quoque  non  stulte,  Troice  raptor,  habes. 

Turba  docenda  venit,  pulchrae  turpesque  puellae  :  255 

Pluraque  sunt  semper  deteriora  bonis. 

Fonnosae  non  artis  opem  praeceptaque  quaerunt : 

Est  illis  sua  dos,  forma  sine  arte  potens  ; 

Cum  mare  compositum  est,  securus  navita  cessat  : 

Cum  tumet,  auxiliis  adsidet  ille  suis.  200 

Rara  tamen  mendo  facies  caret :  occule  mendas. 
Quaque  potes,  vitium  corporis  abde  tui. 

Si  brevis  es,  sedeas,  ne  stans  videare  sedere  : 

Inque  tuo  iaceas  quantulacumque  toro  ; 

Hic  quoque,  ne  possit  fieri  mensura  cubantis,  265 

Iniecta  lateant  fac  tibi  veste  pedes. 

Quae  nimium  gracilis,  pleno  velamina  filo 
Sumat,  et  ex  umeris  laxus  amictus  eat. 

Pallida  purpureis  spargat  sua  corpora  virgis. 

Nigrior  ad  Pharii  confuge  piscis  opem.  270 

Pes  malus  in  nivea  semper  celetur  aluta  : 

Arida  nec  vinclis  crura  resolve  suis. 

Conveniunt  tenues  scapulis  analeptrides  altis  : 

Angustum  circa  fascia  pectus  eat. 

Exiguo  signet  gestu,  quodcumque  loquetur,  275 

Cui  digiti  pingues  et  scaber  unguis  erit. 

Cui  gravis  oris  odor,  numquam  ieiuna  loquatur. 

Et  semper  spatio  distet  ab  ore  viri. 

Si  niger,  aut  ingens,  aut  non  erit  ordine  natus 

Dens  tibi,  ridendo  maxima  damna  feres.  280 

273  analectrides  Heinsius:  analeptrides  (decptr-  E)  MSS. 

1  Garments  with  bright  stripes  would  set  off  the  pale 
complexion  ;  cf.  Virg.  Aen.  8.  660. 

^  Possibly  a  reference  to  crocodile’s  dung,  supposed  to 

136 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


You  have  not  come  to  learn  from  me^  Semele  and 
Leda^  or  thou^  Sidonian  maid,  borne  on  the  false  bull 
o’er  the  sea ;  or  Helen,  whom  not  foolishly,  Mene¬ 
laus,  thou  askest  back,  and  whom  not  foolishly, 
Trojan  ravisher,  thou  dost  keep.  It  is  the  crowd 
that  come  to  learn,  women  both  fair  and  plain  ;  and 
ever  are  the  plain  more  numerous  than  the  fair. 
The  beautiful  care  not  for  precepts  and  the  help  of 
art ;  their  dowry  have  they,  beauty  that  without  art 
is  powerful ;  when  the  sea  is  calm  the  careless  sailor 
takes  his  ease  :  when  it  swells  high  he  implores  his 
helpers.  Yet  rare  is  the  face  that  lacks  a  blemish  : 
hide  your  blemishes,  and  so  far  as  you  can  conceal 
any  fault  of  body.  Sit  if  you  are  short,  lest  standing 
you  seem  to  be  sitting,  and  recline,  small  as  you  are, 
on  your  couch  ;  here,  too,  lest  your  measure  be  taken 
as  you  lie,  let  your  feet  be  hidden  by  a  robe  thrown 
across  them.  Let  her  that  is  too  slender  choose 
garments  of  full  texture,  and  let  her  robe  hang 
loosely  from  her  shoulders.  Let  a  pale  woman  adorn 
her  person  with  purple  stripes,^  and  one  who  is 
swarthy  have  recourse  to  the  aid  of  the  Pharian  fish. 2 
Let  an  ill-formed  foot  be  ever  hidden  beneath  a 
snow-white  sandal ;  never  release  lean  ankles  from 
their  bonds.  Small  clasps  suit  high  shoulder-blades  : 
a  band  should  confine  a  swelling  bosom.  Let  her 
whose  fingers  are  fat,  or  nails  rough,  mark  what  she 
saj^s  with  but  little  gesture.  She  whose  breath  is 
tainted  should  never  speak  before  eating,  and  she 
should  always  stand  at  a  distance  from  her  lover’s 
face.  If  you  have  a  tooth  that  is  black  or  too  large 
or  growing  out  of  place,  laughing  will  cost  you  dear. 

impart  radiance  to  tlie  .skin ;  Bi-andt,  however,  reads 
“vestis”  here,  i.,e.  linen. 


137 


OVID 


Quis  credat  ?  discunt  etiam  ridere  puellae. 

Quaeritur  atque  illis  hac  quoque  parte  decor. 

Sint  modici  rictus,  parvaeque  utrimque  lacunae. 

Et  summos  dentes  ima  labella  tegant. 

Nec  sua  perpetuo  contendant  ilia  risu,  285 

Sed  leve  nescio  quid  femineumque  sonent. 

Est,  quae  perverso  distorqueat  ora  cachinno  : 

Cum  risu  laeta  est  altera,  flere  putes. 

Illa  sonat  raucum  quiddam  atque  inamabile  ridet. 

Ut  rudit  a  scabra  turpis  asella  mola.  290 

Quo  non  ars  penetrat  ?  discunt  lacrimare  decenter. 
Quoque  volunt  plorant  tempore,  quoque  modo. 

Quid,  cum  legitima  fraudatur  littera  voce, 

Blaesaque  fit  iusso  lingua  coacta  sono  ? 

In  vitio  decor  est,  quaedam  male  reddere  verba  :  295 

Discunt  posse  minus,  quam  potuere,  loqui. 

Omnibus  his,  quoniam  prosunt,  inpendite  curam  : 

Discite  femineo  corpora  ferre  gradu. 

Est  et  in  incessu  pars  non  contempta  decoris  : 

Allicit  ignotos  ille  fugatque  viros.  300 

Haec  movet  arte  latus,  tunicisque  fluentibus  aui-as 
Accipit,  extensos  fertque  superba  pedes  : 
illa  velut  coniunx  Umbri  rubicunda  mariti 
Ambulat,  ingentes  varica  fertque  gradus. 

Sed  sit,  ut  in  multis,  modus  bic  quoque  :  rusticus  alter 
Motus,  concesso  mollior  alter  erit.  306 

Pars  umeri  tamen  ima  tui,  pars  summa  lacerti 
Nuda  sit,  a  laeva  conspicienda  manu. 

Hoc  vos  praecipue,  niveae,  decet:  hoc  ubi  vidi. 

Oscula  ferre  umero,  qua  patet  usque,  libet.  310 

1  By  this  he  clearly  means  a  too-affected  movement,  as  the 
next  is  too  rustic  and  homely ;  he  is  describing  a  swayin" 
motion  combined  with  a  haughty  pointing  of  the  feet ;  somethin^ 
like  the  artificial  walk  of  mannequins  in  a  show-room  is  sutr^estedt 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


Who  would  believe  it  ?  women  learn  even  how  to 
laugh ;  here  too  seemliness  is  required  of  them. 
Let  the  mouth  be  but  moderately  opened,  let  the 
dimples  on  either  side  be  small,  and  let  the  bottom 
of  the  lip  cover  the  top  of  the  teeth.  Nor  should 
they  strain  their  sides  with  continuous  laughter,  but 
laugh  with  a  feminine  trill.  One  woman  will  distort 
her  face  with  a  hideous  guffaw,  another,  jmu  would 
think,  was  weeping,  while  she  is  laughing  happily. 
That  one’s  laugh  has  a  strident  and  unlovely  harsh¬ 
ness,  as  when  a  mean  she-ass  brays  by  the  rough 
millstone.  How  far  does  art  not  go  ?  they  learn  to 
weep  becomingly,  and  can  wail  when  and  how  they 
choose.  What,  when  they  defraud  letters  of  their 
rightful  utterance,  and  the  tongue  is  compelled  to 
lisp  at  their  command.  The  defect  has  charm — 
this  uttering  some  words  amiss ;  they  learn  the 
power  to  mar  their  power  of  speech,  Give  atten¬ 
tion  to  all  these  things,  because  they  are  useful : 
learn  to  carry  yourself  with  womanly  step.  In  walk 
too  there  is  no  mean  part  of  charm ;  it  attracts  or 
repels  unknown  admirers.  This  woman  sways  her 
side  with  skill,  and  welcomes  the  breeze  with  flow¬ 
ing  robe,  as  she  haughtily  places  her  extended  feet 
that  one  walks  like  the  sunburnt  spouse  of  an 
Umbrian  lord,  and  takes  long,  straddling  steps. 
But,  as  in  many  things,  let  there  be  moderation 
here ;  one  motion  is  rustic,  another  will  be  more 
affected  than  is  allowed.  Nevertheless  let  the  lower 
part  of  your  shoulder  and  the  upper  part  of  your 
arm  be  bare  and  easily  seen  from  the  left  hand. 
This  becomes  you  especially,  you  who  have  snowy 
skins ;  when  I  see  this,  fain  would  I  kiss  that 
shoulder,  whei’ever  it  is  exposed. 


139 


OVID 


Monstra  maris  Sirenes  erant,  quae  voce  canora 
Quamlibet  admissas  detinuere  rates. 

His  sua  Sisyphides  auditis  paene  resolvit 
Corpora,  nam  sociis  inlita  cera  fuit. 

Res  est  blanda  canor  :  discant  cantare  puellae  :  315 

Pro  facie  multis  vox  sua  lena  fuit. 

Pit  modo  marmoreis  referant  audita  theatris. 

Et  modo  Niliacis  carmina  lusa  modis. 

Nec  plectrum  dextra,  citharam  tenuisse  sinistra 

Nesciat  ai'bitrio  femina  docta  meo.  320 

Saxa  ferasque  lyra  movit  Rhodopeius  Orpheus, 
Tartareosque  lacus  tergeminumque  canem. 

Saxa  tuo  cantu,  vindex  iustissime  matris. 

Fecerunt  muros  officiosa  novos. 

Quamvis  mutus  erat,  voci  favisse  putatur  325 

Piscis,  Arioniae  fabula  nota  lyrae. 

Disce  etiam  duplici  genialia  nablia  palma 
Verrere  :  conveniunt  dulcibus  illa  iocis. 

.Sit  tibi  Callimachi,  sit  Coi  nota  poetae. 

Sit  quoque  vinosi  Teia  Musa  senis  ;  330 

Nota  sit  et  Sappho  (quid  enim  lascivius  illa  ?), 

Cuive  pater  vafri  luditur  arte  Getae. 

Et  teneri  possis  carmen  legisse  Properti, 

Sive  aliquid  Galli,  sive,  Tibulle,  tuum  : 

Dictaque  Varroni  fulvis  insignia  villis  335 

Vellera,  germanae,  Phrixe,  querenda  tuae  : 

^  A  later  legend  made  Ulysses  tlie  son  of  Sisyphus,  whose 
name  was  proverbial  for  cunning  ;  when  Ulysses  stalled  past  the 
Sirens’  rock,  he  bound  himself  to  the  mast,  and  stopped  the  ears 
of  his  crew  with  wax :  see  Horn.  Od.  xii.  1.  166. 

*  Amphion,  who  punished  Uirce  for  her  cruelt}'  to  his  mother 
Antiope, 

140 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


The  Sii’ens  were  wondrous  creatures  of  the  sea, 
who  with  tuneful  voice  detained  vessels,  how  swift 
soe’er  they  sailed.  Hearing  them  the  son  of 
Sisyphus  ^  all  but  unloosed  his  body ;  for  his  com¬ 
rades’  ears  were  stopped  with  wax.  A  persuasive 
thing  is  song :  let  women  learn  to  sing ;  with  many 
voice  instead  of  face  has  been  their  procuress.  Let 
them  repeat  now  ditties  heard  in  marble  theatres, 
now  songs  acted  in  the  fashion  of  Nile ;  nor  should 
a  woman  skilled  as  I  would  have  her  be  ignorant 
how  to  hold  the  quill  in  her  right  hand  and  the  lyre 
in  her  left.  With  his  lyre  did  Orpheus  of  Rhodope 
move  rocks  and  hearts,  and  the  lakes  of  Tartarus 
and  the  three-headed  dog.  At  thy  strains,  most 
just  avenger  of  thy  mother,^  the  stones  with  ready 
service  formed  new  walls.  A  fish  though  dumb  is 
believed  to  have  shown  favour  to  the  voice  in  the 
well-known  fable  of  Arion’s  lyre.  Learn  also  to 
sweep  with  both  hands  the  genial  Phoenician  harp  ;  ® 
suitable  is  it  to  merry-making. 

Let  the  Muse  of  Callimachus  and  of  the  Coan 
bard  be  known  to  you,  and  the  old  drunkard’s  Teian 
strains  ;  ^  let  Sappho  too  be  known  (for  who  more 
wanton  than  she  .^),  or  he  whose  sire  is  deceived  by 
the  crafty  Getan’s  cunning.®  And  you  should  be 
able  to  read  a  poem  of  tender  Propertius  or  some¬ 
thing  of  Gallus  or  of  you,  Tibullus ;  and  the  fleece 
that  Varro  told  of,  famous  for  its  tawny  hairs,  a 
cause  of  complaint  to  thy  sister,  Phrixus  ;  and  Aeneas 

^  A  ten-  or  twelve-stringed  instrument,  mentioned  in 
Chronicles  i.  15.  16. 

Philetas  and  Anacreon. 

**  Menander,  in  whose  comedies  the  father  is  often  deceived 
by  the  slave  (often  called  Getaj. 

141 


OVID 


Et  profugum  Aenean,  altae  primordia  Romae, 

Quo  nullum  Latio  clarius  extat  opus. 

Forsitan  et  nostrum  nomen  miscebitur  istis, 

Nec  mea  Lethaeis  scripta  dabuntur  aquis  :  340 

Atque  aliquis  dicet  “  nostri  lege  culta  magistri 
Carmina,  quis  partes  instruit  ille  duas  : 

Deve  tribus  libris,  titulus  quos  signat  Amorum, 

Elige,  quod  docili  molliter  ore  legas  : 

Vel  tibi  composita  cantetur  Epistola  voce  :  345 

Ignotum  hoc  aliis  ille  novavit  opus.” 

O  ita,  Phoebe,  velis !  ita  vos,  pia  numina  vatum. 

Insignis  cornu  Bacche,  novemque  deae  ! 

Quis  dubitet,  quin  scire  velim  saltare  puellam. 

Ut  moveat  posito  brachia  iussa  mero  ?  350 

Artifices  lateris,  scenae  spectacula,  amantur : 

Tantum  mobilitas  illa  decoris  habet. 

Parva  monere  pudet,  talorum  dicere  iactus 
Ut  sciat,  et  vires,  tessera  missa,  tuas  : 

Et  modo  tres  iactet  numeros,  modo  cogitet,  apte  355 
Quam  subeat  partem  callida,  quamque  vocet. 

Cautaque  non  stulte  latronum  proelia  ludat. 

Unus  cum  gemino  calculus  hoste  perit. 


^  i.e.  men  and  women. 

^  i.e.  one  of  the  Letters  of  the  Heroines. 

®  The  art  of  dancing  included  the  representation  of  all  kinds 
of  characters  and  even  of  stories  by  means  of  gesture  and 
attitude;  hence  artistic  movement  of  the  arms  was  of  great 
importance.  It  could  also,  of  course,  include  dancing  as  we  are 
accustomed  to  it  in  the  ballet. 

‘  Unfortunately  details  of  these  games  as  played  by  the 
Ureeks  and  Romans  are  only  scantily  knowm.  In  858  the 
reference  may  be  to  a  piece  falling  before  the  attack  of  two 
others ;  cf.  Tristia,  2.  478  (where  the  whole  passage  is 
142 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


the  wanderer;  origin  of  lofty  Rome;  a  Avork  than 
which  none  more  famous  has  appeared  in  Latium. 
Perhaps  too  my  name  will  be  joined  to  theirS; 
nor  will  my  writings  be  given  to  Lethe’s  waters ; 
and  someone  will  say;  Read  the  elegant  poems 
of  our  master;  wherein  he  instructs  the  rival 
l)arties ;  ^  or  from  the  three  books  marked  by  the 
title  of  '  Loves  ’  choose  out  what  you  may  softly 
read  with  docile  voice ;  or  let  some  Letter  ^  be  read 
by  you  with  practised  utterance ;  he  first  invented 
this  art;  unknown  to  others.”  So  grant  it,  O 
Phoebus  !  so  grant  it;  ye  blessed  souls  of  poets, 
and  thou,  O  horned  Bacchus,  and  ye  goddesses 
nine  ! 

Who  w'ould  doubt  that  I  would  have  a  Avoman 
knoAv  how  to  dance,®  that  when  the  wine  is  set 
she  may,  when  bidden,  move  her  arms.  Artists 
whom  the  stage  displays  win  favour  as  they  move 
their  sides ;  so  great  a  charm  has  this  easy  move¬ 
ment.  I  am  ashamed  to  advise  in  little  things, 
that  she  should  know  the  throws  of  the  dice,  and 
thy  powers,  O  flung  counter.^  Now  let  her  throw 
three  dice,  and  now  reflect  which  side  she  may 
fitly  join  in  her  cunning,  and  which  challenge.  Let 
her  cautiously  and  not  foolishly  play  the  battle  of 
the  brigands,  when  one  piece  falls  before  his  double 

similar),  and  Mart.  14,  17  ;  also  Pollux,  9,  98,  who  says  that 
a  piece  can  be  taken  by  two  pieces  of  a  different  colour.  In 
359-60  the  situation  seems  to  be  that  of  a  king  in  chess 
trying  to  avoid  checkmate.  The  available  evidence  is  con¬ 
sidered  at  length  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  s.v.  Lusoria  tabula.  The 
point  of  “aemulus”  may  lie  in  the  fact  that  a  piece  which 
commonly  play-ed  with  a  partner  (“  compar”)  might  lose  that 
partner  to  the  enemy  ;  having  lost  her  .he  perhaps  had  to  go 
back  to  where  he  started. 


143 


OVID 


Bellatorque  sua  prensus  sine  coiujjare  bellat, 

Aemulus  et  coeptum  saepe  recurrit  iter.  360 

Reticuloque  jiilae  leves  fundantur  aperto. 

Nec,  nisi  quam  tolles,  ulla  movenda  pila  est. 

Est  genus,  in  totidem  tenui  ratione  redactum 
Scriptula,  quot  menses  lubricus  annus  habet : 

Parva  tabella  capit  ternos  utrimque  lapillos,  365 

In  qua  vicisse  est  continuasse  suos. 

Mille  facesse  iocos  ;  turpe  est  nescire  puellam 
Ludere  :  ludendo  saepe  paratur  amor. 

Sed  minimus  labor  est  sapienter  lactibus  uti : 

Maius  opus  mores  composuisse  suos.  370 

Tum  sumus  incauti,  studioque  aperimur  in  ipso, 
Nudaque  per  lusus  pectora  nostra  patent  ; 

Ira  subit,  deforme  malum,  lucrique  cupido, 
lurgiaque  et  rixae  sollici tusque  dolor: 

Crimina  dicuntur,  resonat  clamoribus  aether,  375 

Invocat  iratos  et  sibi  quisque  deos  : 

Nulla  fides,  tabulaeque  novae  per  vota  petuntur; 

Et  lacrimis  vidi  saepe  madere  genas, 
luppiter  a  vobis  tam  turpia  crimina  pellat. 

In  quibus  est  ulli  cura  placere  viro.  380 

Hos  ignava  iocos  tribuit  natura  puellis ; 

Materia  ludunt  uberiore  viri. 

Sunt  illis  celeresque  pilae  iaculumque  trochique 
Armaque  et  in  gyros  ire  coactus  equus. 

Nec  vos  Campus  habet,  jiec  vos  gelidissima  Virgo,  385 
Nec  Tuscus  placida  devehit  amnis  aqua. 

364  scriptula  Scaliger :  spicula  MSB. 

1  Perhaps  putting  marbles  or  other  balls  into  a  bag  or  net, 
and  taking  them  out  one  by  one  Avithout  moving  any  of  the 
rest. 


144 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 

foe,  and  the  warrior  caught  without  his  mate  fights 
on  and  the  enemy  retraces  many  a  time  the  path 
he  has  begun.  And  let  the  smooth  balls  be  flung 
into  the^  open  net,  nor  must  any  ball  be  moved  save 
that  which  you  will  take  out.i  There  is  a  sort  of 
game  confined  by  subtle  method  into  as  many  lines 
as  the  slippery  year  has  months :  2  a  small  board 
has  three  counters  on  either  side^  whereon  to  join 
your  pieces  together  is  to  conquer.^  Make  up  a 
thousand  games  j  it  is  unseemly  for  a  girl  to  know 
not  how  to  play ;  by  play  love  is  often  won.  But 
the  smallest  task  is  to  use  your  throws  wisely ; 
more  important  is  it  to  control  one’s  own  behaviour. 
Then  are  we  incautious  and  reveal  ourselves  in  our 
veiy  zest,  and  in  our  games  our  hearts  show  clear 
to  see;  anger  steals  in,  an  unsightly  evil,  and 
desire  for  gain,  and  brawls  and  quarrels  and 
distressful  grief ;  repi'oaches  ai-e  hurled ;  the  air 
resounds  with  cries,  and  each  calls  angry  gods  to 
his  aid :  none  trusts  his  neighbour,  and  amid  vows 
new  tables  are  demanded;  oft  have  I  seen  cheeks 
wet  with  tears.  May  Jupiter  keep  such  foul  reproach 
far  from  you,  who  seek  to  win  any  man’s  favour. 

These  are  the  games  that  indolent  nature  has 
given  to  women ;  men  have  richer  material  for  their 
sport.  Swift  balls  have  they,  and  javelins  and 
hoops  and  armour,  and  steeds  compelled  to  go 
in  circles.  You  the  Campus  knows  not,  nor  the 
cool  water  of  the  Maiden,  nor  does  the  Tuscan 
river  bear  you  down  on  its  placid  stream.  But  you 

^  Called  “duodecim  scripta,”  twelve  Hues  drawn  across 
the  board. 

®  This  game  is  mentioned  in  Trist,  2.  481,  but  we  have  no 
information  about  it. 

I4S 


L 


OVID 


At  licet  et  prodest  Pompeias  ire  per  umbras. 

Virginis  aetheriis  cum  caput  ardet  equis  ; 

Visite  laurigero  sacrata  Palatia  Phoebo  ; 

Ille  Paraetonicas  mersit  in  alta  rates  ;  390 

Quaeque  soror  coniunxque  ducis  monimenta  pararunt, 
Navalique  gener  cinctus  honore  caput ; 

Visite  turicremas  vaccae  Memphitidos  aras. 

Visite  conspicuis  terna  theatra  locis; 

Spectentur  tepido  maculosae  sanguine  harenae,  395 
Metaque  ferventi  circueunda  rota. 

Quod  latet,  ignotum  est :  ignoti  nulla  cupido  : 

Fructus  abest,  facies  cum  bona  teste  caret. 

Tu  licet  et  Thamyram  superes  et  Amoebea  cantu. 

Non  erit  ignotae  gratia  magna  lyrae.  400 

Si  Venerem  Cous  nusquam  posuisset  Apelles, 

Mersa  sub  aequoreis  illa  lateret  aquis. 

Quid  petitur  sacris,  nisi  tantum  fama,  poetis  ? 

Hoc  votum  nostri  summa  laboris  habet. 

Cura  deum  fuerant  olim  regumque  poetae  :  405 

Praemiaque  antiqui  magna  tulere  chori. 

Sanctaque  maiestas  et  erat  venerabile  nomen 
Vatibus,  et  largae  saepe  dabantur  opes. 


^  The  constellation  of  Virgo,  in  which  the  snn  is  in  August. 
The  “Maiden”  of  1.  385  is  the  water  of  the  aqueduct  so 
called,  which  was  thought  the  most  pleasing  to  swim  in.  For 
the  Pompeian  shade  see  note  on  i.  67. 

^  “Palatia”  covers  other  buildings  on  the  Palatine  besides 
the  Imperial  Palace;  e.g.  the  temple  of  Apollo  built  by 
Augustus. 

®  Those  of  Cleopatra.  Paraetonium  is  on  the  coast  west  of 
the  Nile  Delta. 

146 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


may,  and  with  profit,  walk  through  the  Pompeian 
shade,  when  the  head  is  scorched  with  the  Maiden’s 
celestial  steeds.  Visit  the  Palace  sacred  to  laurelled 
Phoebus :  ^  it  was  he  that  sank  in  the  deep  the 
Paraetonian  barks ;  ®  and  the  monuments  that  the 
sister  and  consort  of  our  Chief  have  won,  and  his 
son-in-law  whose  head  is  wreathed  with  naval  glory.^ 
Visit  the  incense-burning  altars  of  the  Memphian 
heifer ;  ®  visit  three  theatres  ®  in  conspicuous  seats. 
See  the  arena  stained  with  warm  blood,  and  the 
goal  7  that  the  glowing  wheels  must  round.  What  is 
hidden  is  unknown  ;  what  is  unknown  none  desires  ; 
naught  is  gained  when  a  comely  face  has  none  to 
see  it.  Though  in  song  you  may  surpass  Thamyras 
and  Amoebeus,  in  an  unknown  lyre  there  is  no 
great  delight.  If  Coan  Apelles  had  never  painted 
Venus,  she  would  still  be  lying  hid  in  the  sea’s 
depths.  What  is  sought  by  the  sacred  bards  save 
fame  alone  toil  we  ne’er  so  hard,  this  is  all  we  ask. 
Poets  once  were  the  care  of  chieftains  and  of  kings,® 
and  choirs  of  old  won  great  rewards.  Sacred  was 
the  majesty  and  venerable  the  name  of  the  poet ; 
and  ofttimes  lavish  wealth  was  given  them.  Ennius, 

^  Agrippa  married  Julia,  daughter  of  Augustus.  He  built 
the  “  Porticus  Argonautarum,”  so  called  from  the  scenes 
portrayed  in  it,  in  25  B.C.,  to  commemorate  the  battle  of 
Actium. 

®  Isis,  confused  with  lo,  turned  into  a  heifer  by  Juno. 

®  Those  of  Pompey  (dedicated  55  b.c.  ),  Marcellus  (built  by 
Augustus  in  memory  of  the  young  Marcellus)  and  Balbus 
(dedicated  13  B.c.)  are  meant. 

'  The  “meta”  was  the  turning-post  at  the  end  of  the 
Circus. 

*  e.g.  Euripides,  the  guest  of  Archelaus,  king  of  Mace¬ 
donia,  Anacreon  of  Polycrates,  Pindar  and  Bacohylides  of 
Hiero. 


L  2 


147 


OVID 


Ennius  emeruit^  Calabris  in  montibus  ortus. 

Contiguus  poni,  Scipio  magne,  tibi.  410 

Nunc  ederae  sine  honore  iacent,  operataque  doctis 
Cura  vigil  Musis  nomen  inertis  habet. 

Sed  famae  vigilare  iuvat  :  quis  nosset  Homerum, 

Ilias  aeternum  si  latuisset  opus  ? 

Quis  Danaen  nosset,  si  semper  clusa  fuisset,  415 

Inque  sua  turri  perlatuisset  anus  ? 

Utilis  est  vobis,  formosae,  turba,  puellae. 

Saepe  vagos  ultra  limina  ferte  pedes. 

Ad  multas  lupa  tendit  oves,  praedetur  ut  unam, 

Et  lovis  in  multas  devolat  ales  aves.  420 

Se  quoque  det  populo  mulier  speciosa  videndam  : 

Quem  trahat,  e  multis  forsitan  unus  erit. 

Omnibus  illa  locis  maneat  studiosa  placendi. 

Et  curam  tota  mente  decoris  agat. 

Casus  ubique  valet ;  semper  tibi  pendeat  hamus  :  425 

Quo  minime  credas  gurgite,  piscis  erit. 

Saej)e  canes  frustra  nemorosis  montibus  errant, 

Inque  plagam  nullo  cervus  agente  venit. 

Quid  minus  Andromedae  fuerat  sperare  revinctae. 

Quam  lacrimas  ulli  posse  placere  suas  ?  430 

Funere  saepe  viri  vir  quaeritur  ;  ire  solutis 
Crinibus  et  fletus  non  tenuisse  decet. 

Sed  vitate  viros  cultum  formamque  professos. 

Quique  suas  ponunt  in  statione  conias. 

Quae  vobis  dicunt,  dixerunt  mille  puellis  :  435 

Errat  et  in  nulla  sede  moi’atur  amor. 

Femina  quid  faciat,  cum  sit  vir  levior  ipsa. 

Forsitan  et  plures  possit  habere  vii’os  ? 

148 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


sprung  from  Calabrian  liills^  won  a  place,  great 
Scipio,  by  thy  side;  but  now  the  ivy  lies  un¬ 
honoured,  and  wakeful  toil  devoted  to  the  learned 
Muses  bears  the  name  of  sloth.  Yet  wakeful  pursuit 
of  fame  brings  reward :  who  would  know  of  Homer 
if  the  Iliad,  an  ever-enduring  work,  had  lain  hid  ? 
Who  would  know  of  Danae,  had  she  always  been 
a  prisoner,  and  tarried  to  old  womanhood  in  her 
tower  ?  Profitable  to  you,  beauteous  damsels,  is  a 
crowd;  oft  let  your  wandering  feet  stray  o’er  the 
threshold.  The  wolf  draws  nigh  to  many  sheep 
that  she  may  prey  on  one,  and  the  eagle  of  Jove 
swoops  down  on  many  birds.  Let  the  beautiful 
woman  also  offer  herself  to  the  people  to  be  seen ; 
out  of  many  there  will  be  one,  perchance,  whom 
she  may  attract.  Let  her  that  is  eager  to  please 
be  always  everywhere,  and  give  all  her  mind’s 
attention  to  her  charms.  Chance  everywhere  has 
power;  ever  let  your  hook  be  hanging;  where 
you  least  believe  it,  there  Avill  be  a  fish  in  the 
stream.  Often  do  hounds  stray  in  vain  through 
mountain  glens,  and  a  stag,  without  any  driving  it, 
falls  into  the  nets.  What  had  fettered  Andromeda 
less  to  hope  for  than  that  her  tears  could  e’er 
find  favour.?  Often  a  husband  is  sought  for  at  a 
husband’s  funeral ;  it  is  becoming  to  go  with  dis¬ 
hevelled  hair,  and  to  mourn  without  restraint. 

But  avoid  men  who  profess  elegance  and  good 
looks,  and  who  arrange  their  hair  in  its  proper 
place.  What  they  tell  you  they  have  told  a  thou¬ 
sand  women ;  their  fancy  wanders,  and  has  no 
fixed  abode.  What  can  a  woman  do  when  her  lover 
is  smoother  than  herself,  and  may  perhaps  have 
more  lovers  than  she  .?  You  will  hardly  believe  me. 


149 


OVID 


Vix  mihi  credetiSj  sed  credite  :  Troia  maneret, 

Praeceptis  Priami  si  foret  usa  sui.  440 

Sunt  qui  mendaci  specie  grassentur  amoris, 

Perque  aditus  talis  lucra  pudenda  petant. 

Nec  coma  vos  fallat  liquido  nitidissima  nardo. 

Nec  brevis  in  rugas  lingula  pressa  suas  : 

Nec  toga  decipiat  filo  tenuissima,  nec  si  445 

Anulus  in  digitis  alter  et  alter  erit. 

Forsitan  ex  horum  numero  cultissimus  ille 
Fur  sit,  et  uratur  vestis  amore  tuae. 

“  Redde  meum  !  ”  clamant  spoliatae  saepe  puellae. 

Redde  meum  !  ”  toto  voce  boante  foro.  450 

Has,  Venus,  e  templis  multo  radiantibus  auro 
Lenta  vides  lites  Appiadesque  tuae. 

Sunt  quoque  non  dubia  quaedam  mala  nomina  fama  : 

Deceptae  a  !  multi  crimen  amantis  habent. 

Discite  ab  alterius  vestris  timuisse  querellis  ;  455 

lanua  fallaci  ne  sit  aperta  viro. 

Parcite,  Cecropides,  iuranti  credere  Theseo  : 

Quos  faciet  testes,  fecit  et  ante,  deos. 

Et  tibi,  Demophoon,  Thesei  criminis  heres, 

Phyllide  decepta  nulla  relicta  fides.  4C0 

Si  bene  promittent,  totidem  promittite  verbis  : 

Si  dederint,  et  vos  gaudia  pacta  date. 

Illa  potest  vigiles  flammas  extinguere  Vestae, 

Et  rapere  e  templis,  Inachi,  sacra  tuis. 

Et  dare  mixta  viro  tritis  aconita  cicutis,  4G5 

Accepto  venerem  munere  siqua  negat. 

440  Priami  .  .  .  sui  MSS.:  Priame  .  .  .  tuis  R:  Priami8(i.e. 
Cassandra)  .  .  .  tuis  Housvian. 

150 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


yet  believe :  Troy  would  have  survived,  had  she 
followed  the  precepts  of  her  own  Priam.  Some 
make  their  assault  under  a  false  appearance  of  love, 
and  by  such  approaches  seek  shameful  gains.  Let 
not  their  hair,  sleek  with  liquid  nard,  deceive  you,  nor 
the  tongue  of  the  belt  tucked  tightly  into  the 
creases  it  makes ;  let  not  the  toga  of  finest  texture 
play  you  false,  nor  if  there  be  one  ring  and  yet  another 
on  their  fingei’s.  Perchance  out  of  their  number 
the  most  elegant  will  prove  a  thief,  and  be  inflamed 
by  longing  for  your  robe.  “  Give  me  back  my  own,” 
robbed  women  often  cry ;  “  give  me  back  my  own,” 
cry  their  voices  over  the  whole  forum  :  these  quarrels 
dost  thou  watch  unheeding,  O  Venus,^  from  temples 
shining  with  lavish  gold,  thou  and  thy  Appian 
Nymphs.^  There  are,  too,  certain  names  ^  of  ill  fame 
unquestionable ;  many,  alas,  bear  the  reproach  of  a 
deserted  mistress.  Learn  from  the  complaints  of 
another  to  fear  for  yourselves ;  nor  let  your  door 
be  open  to  a  false  lover.  Ye  maids  of  Athens, 
believe  not  Theseus’  oaths  :  the  gods  he  will  call  to 
witness,  he  has  called  upon  before,  and  thou  too, 
Demophoon,  heir  of  Theseus’  reproach,  art  no  longer 
trusted  since  thou  didst  play  Phyllis  false.  If  they 
make  fair  promises,  promise  in  as  many  words  ; 
if  they  give,  give  also  your  bargained  joys.  That 
woman  could  extinguish  Vesta’s  watchful  flame,  and 
rob  thy  temple,  Inachis,^  of  its  sanctities,  and  give 
aconite  mixed  with  pounded  hemlock  to  her  lover, 
who  receives  a  gift  and  then  denies  her  favours. 

1  See  note  on  i.  81  ff.  *  See  note  on  i.  82. 

®  i.e.  men  of  as  bad  repute  as  Theseus  and  Demophoon. 

*  See  note  on  393.  lo  was  daughter  of  Inachus,  king  of 
Argos. 


OVID 


Fert  animus  propius  consistere  :  supprime  habenas, 
Musa,  nec  admissis  excutiare  rotis. 

Verba  vadum  temptent  abiegnis  scripta  tabellis  : 

Acci2)iat  missas  ajjta  ministra  notas.  470 

Inspice  :  quodque  leges,  ex  ipsis  collige  verbis. 

Fingat,  an  ex  animo  sollicitusque  roget. 

Postque  brevem  rescribe  moram  :  mora  semper  amantes 
Incitat,  exiguum  si  modo  tempus  habet. 

Sed  neque  te  facilem  iuveni  promitte  roganti,  475 

Nec  tamen  e  duro  quod  petit  ille,  nega. 

Fac  timeat  speretque  simul,  quotiensque  remittes. 
Spesque  magis  veniat  certa  minorque  metus. 

Munda,  sed  e  medio  consuetaque  verba,  puellae. 

Scribite  :  sermonis  publica  forma  placet;  480 

A  !  quotiens  dubius  scriptis  exarsit  amator. 

Et  nocuit  formae  barbara  lingua  bonae  ! 

Sed  quoniam,  quamvis  vittae  careatis  honore. 

Est  vobis  vestros  fallere  cura  viros. 

Ancillae  puerique  manu  perarate  tabellas,  485 

Pignora  nec  jmero  credite  vestra  novo. 

\''idi  ego  pallentes  isto  terrore  puellas 
Servitium  miseras  tempus  in  omne  pati. 

Perfidus  ille  quidem,  qui  talia  pignora  servat, 

Sed  tamen  Aetnaei  fulminis  instar  habent.  490 

Indice  me  fraus  est  concessa  repellere  fraudem. 
Armaque  in  armatos  sumere  iura  sinunt. 

Ducere  consuescat  multas  manus  una  figuras, 

(A  !  pereant,  per  quos  ista  monenda  mihi) 

485  manu  perarate  Bentley,  Merkel :  manus  ferat  arte  R. 


Apparently  he  means  that  he  lias  been  getting  too  discursive 
and  will  now  deal  more  closely  with  his  subject. 

152 


ART  OF  LOVE;  III 


My  spirit  bids  me  take  a  closer  stand ;  ^  draw  in  the 
reinSj  my  Muse,  nor  dash  headlong  with  ungoverned 
wheels.  Let  words  written  on  fir-wood  tablets  pre¬ 
pare  the  way  :  let  a  suitable  handmaid  receive  the 
missive ;  examine  it,  and  in  what  you  read,  gather 
from  the  words  themselves  whether  he  is  feigning, 
or  writes  from  his  heart  in  real  distress ;  after  brief 
delay  write  back  :  delay  ever  spurns  lovers  on,  if  but 
its  term  be  brief.  But  neither  promise  yourself  too 
easily  to  him  who  entreats  you,  nor  yet  deny  what 
he  asks  too  stubbornly.  Cause  him  to  hope  and  fear 
together ;  and  as  often  as  you  reply,  see  that  hope 
becomes  surer  and  fear  diminishes.  Dainty,  O  women, 
be  the  words  you  write,  but  customary  and  in  common 
use  ;  ordinary  speech  gives  pleasure ;  ah,  how  often 
has  a  message  inflamed  a  doubting  lover,  or  some 
barbaric  phrase  done  harm  to  beauteous  shape. 
But  because,  though  you  lack  the  honour  of  the 
fillet,  you  too  have  your  lords  ^  you  are  eager  to 
deceive,  Avrite  your  messages  by  the  hand  of  slave 
or  handmaid,  and  entrust  not  your  pledges  to  a  slave 
you  know  not ;  I  have  seen  women  pale  with  terror 
on  that  account,  suffering  in  their  misery  unending 
servitude.  Perfidious  indeed  is  he  who  keeps  such 
pledges,  but  he  holds  what  is  like  a  thunderbolt  of 
Aetna.  In  my  judgment  fraud  may  be  repelled  by 
fraud,  and  the  laws  allow  arms  to  be  taken  against 
an  armed  foe.®  Let  one  hand  be  accustomed  to 
tracing  many  figures,  (ah,  perish  they  who  make 

2  Though  not  lawful  wives,  you  are  not  less  eager  to 
deceive  your  lords. 

3  As  love-letters  may  be  used  as  evidence  against  you  it  is 
permissible  to  return  fraud  by  fraud,  and  learn  to  write  in 
different  hands.  For  1.  496,  cf.  ii,  396  and  note. 


153 


OVID 


Nec  nisi  deletis  tutum  rescribere  ceris,  495 

Ne  teneat  geminas  una  tabella  manus. 

Femina  dicatur  scribenti  semper  amator  : 

Illa  sit  in  vestris,  qui  fuit  ille,  notis. 

Si  licet  a  parvis  animum  ad  maiora  referre, 

Plenaque  curvato  pandere  vela  sinu,  500 

Pertinet  ad  faciem  rabidos  compescere  mores  : 

Candida  pax  homines,  trux  decet  ira  feras. 

Ora  tument  ira  :  nigrescunt  sanguine  venae  : 

Lumina  Gorgoneo  saevius  igne  micant. 

“  I  procul  hinc,”  dixit  “  non  es  mihi,  tibia,  tanti,”  505 
Ut  vidit  vultus  Pallas  in  amne  suos. 

Vos  quoque  si  media  speculum  spectetis  in  ira. 
Cognoscat  faciem  vix  satis  ulla  suam. 

Nec  minus  in  vultu  damnosa  superbia  vestro  : 

Comibus  est  oculis  alliciendus  amor.  510 

Odimus  inmodicos  (experto  credite)  fastus  : 

Saepe  tacens  odii  semina  vultus  habet. 

Spectantem  specta,  ridenti  mollia  ride  : 

Innuet,  acceptas  tu  quoque  redde  notas. 

Sic  ubi  prolusit,  rudibus  puer  ille  relictis  515 

Spicula  de  pharetra  promit  acuta  sua. 

Odimus  et  maestas;  Tecmessam  diligat  Aiax  ; 

Nos  hilarem  populum  femina  laeta  capit. 

Numquam  ego  te,  Andromache,  nec  te,  Tecmessa, 
rogarem. 

Ut  mea  de  vobis  altera  amica  foret.  520 

Credere  vix  videor,  cum  cogar  credere  partu. 

Vos  ego  cum  vestris  concubuisse  viris. 

Scilicet  Aiaci  mulier  maestissima  dixit 

“  Lux  mea  ”  quaeque  solent  verba  iuvare  viros  ? 

499  si  licet  J?  :  sed  libet  Ileinsius  and  edd. 

154 


ART  OF  LOVE;  III 


this  counsel  needful !)  nor  is  it  safe  to  write  an 
answer  unless  the  wax  is  quite  smoothed  over,  lest 
one  tablet  hold  two  hands.  Let  your  lover  always 
be  called  a  woman  by  the  writer :  in  your  messages 
let  what  is  really  “  he  ”  be  “  she.” 

If  I  may  turn  my  mind  from  small  things  to  greater, 
and  spread  out  full  my  swelling  sails,  it  is  beauty’s 
task  to  hold  mad  moods  in  check ;  fair  peace  is  be¬ 
coming  to  men,  fierce  anger  to  beasts.  The  face 
becomes  swollen  with  passion ;  the  veins  grow  black 
with  blood,  the  eyes  flash  more  savagely  than  Gorgon 
fire.  “Away  with  you,”  said  Pallas,  “to  me,  flute, 
you  are  not  worth  the  cost,”  when  she  saw  her 
countenance  in  the  stream.  And  you,  should  you 
in  mid-passion  behold  a  mirror,  scarce  one  of  you 
would  know  her  own  features.  Not  less  harmful  in 
your  looks  is  pride ;  by  gentle  eyes  must  love  be 
enticed.  1  hate  immoderate  haughtiness  (believe 
one  who  knows) ;  a  silent  face  oft  holds  the  seeds 
of  hatred.  Look  at  one  who  is  looking  at  you ;  re¬ 
turn  a  pleasant  smile ;  if  he  beckons,  acknowledge 
and  retui’n  his  nod.  ’Tis  after  such  prelude  that 
young  Cupid,  abandoning  the  foils,  draws  the  sharp 
arrows  from  his  quiver.  Melancholy  women  too  1 
hate;  let  Ajax  love  Tecmessa we,  a  mirthful  folk, 
are  charmed  by  cheerful  women.  Never  would  I 
ask  you,  Andromache,  nor  you,  Tecmessa,  to  be 
either  of  you  my  mistress.  Scarce,  methinks,  can 
I  believe,  though  your  offspring  compel  me,  that  you 
ever  lay  with  your  husbands.  What,  did  that  most 
melancholy  of  women  call  Ajax  “  Darling,”  or  use 
such  words  as  please  a  lover? 

^  She  was  a  captive  woman,  and  hence  melancholy. 

155 


OVID 


Quis  vetat  a  magnis  ad  res  exemi^la  minores  525 

Sumere,  nec  nomen  pertimuisse  ducis  ? 

Dux  bonus  huic  centum  commisit  vite  regendos. 

Huic  equites,  illi  signa  tuenda  dedit : 

Vos  quoque,  de  nobis  quem  quisque  erit  aptus  ad  usum. 
Inspicite,  et  certo  ponite  quemque  loco.  530 

Munera  det  dives  :  ius  qui  profitebitur,  adsit : 

P^acundus  causam  saepe  clientis  agat : 

Carmina  qui  facimus,  mittamus  carmina  tantum  : 

Hic  chorus  ante  alios  aptus  amare  sumus. 

Nos  facimus  placitae  late  praeconia  formae  :  535 

Nomen  habet  Nemesis,  Cynthia  nomen  habet  : 

Vesper  et  Eoae  novere  Lycorida  terrae  : 

Et  multi,  quae  sit  nostra  Corinna,  rogant. 

Adde,  quod  insidiae  sacris  a  vatibus  absunt. 

Et  facit  ad  mores  ars  quoque  nostra  suos.  540 

Nec  nos  ambitio,  nec  amor  nos  tangit  habendi  : 

Contempto  colitur  lectus  et  umbra  foro. 

Sed  facile  haeremus,  validoque  perurimur  aestu. 

Et  nimium  certa  scimus  amare  fide. 

Scilicet  ingenium  placida  mollitur  ab  arte,  545 

Et  studio  mores  convenienter  eunt. 

Vatibus  Aoniis  faciles  estote,  puellae  : 

Numen  inest  illis,  Pieridesque  favent. 

Est  deus  in  nobis,  et  sunt  commercia  caeli : 

Sedibus  aetheriis  spiritus  ille  venit.  650 

A  doctis  pretium  scelus  est  sperare  poetis ; 

Me  miserum  I  scelus  hoc  nulla  puella  timet. 
Dissimulate  tamen,  nec  prima  fronte  rapaces 
Este  :  novus  viso  casse  resistet  amans. 


*  The  badge  of  the  centurions,  symbolising  the  power  to  inflict 
corporal  punishment. 

156 


ART  OF  LOVE  :  III 


Who  forbids  me  to  use  great  things  as  examples 
for  little,  or  to  fear  the  name  of  leader  ?  To  this  man 
a  good  leader  commits  a  hundred  men  to  be  ruled 
by  his  vinewood  staff/  to  another  the  care  of  horse¬ 
men,  to  another  that  of  the  standards ;  do  you 
likewise  consider  which  of  us  is  suited  to  which  use, 
and  set  each  in  his  proper  place.  Let  the  rich  man 
give  presents ;  let  him  who  professes  law  give  legal 
aid ;  let  the  eloquent  often  plead  his  client’s  cause  ; 
let  us  who  make  poems  send  poems  only  :  we  poets 
are  a  band  more  fitted  than  the  rest  for  love.  ’Tis 
we  who  herald  the  loved  one’s  beauty  far  and  wide ; 
renowned  is  Nemesis,^  Cynthia  is  renowned  ;  evening 
and  Eastern  lands  know  of  Lycoris,  and  many  in¬ 
quire  who  my  Corinna  may  be.  Besides,  treachery 
is  alien  to  sacred  bards,  and  our  art  too  helps  to 
shape  our  character.^  Neither  ambition  nor  love  of 
gain  affects  us  ;  the  Forum  we  despise,  and  cultivate 
the  couch  and  the  shade.  But  we  are  easily  caught, 
and  burn  with  a  strong  passion,  and  know  that  we 
love  with  a  loyalty  most  sure.  "Tis  in  truth  from  the 
gentle  art  that  our  spirit  wins  tenderness,  and  our 
behaviour  is  akin  to  our  pursuit.  Be  kind,  ye  women, 
to  Aonian  bards ;  divinity  is  in  them,  and  the  Muses 
show  them  favour.  There  is  a  god  in  us ;  we  are  in 
touch  with  heaven  :  from  celestial  places  comes  our 
inspiration.  To  hope  for  reward  from  skilled  poets 
is  a  crime  :  ah,  wretched  that  I  am,  it  is  a  crime  no 
woman  fears!  Yet  dissemble,  and  carry  not  greed 
on  your  open  countenance ;  a  new  lover  will  take 
fright  if  he  sees  the  net.  But  a  rider  would  not  use 

2  Nemesis,  Cynthia  and  Lycoris  were  the  loves  of  Ti¬ 
bullus,  Propertius  and  Gallus  respectively. 

3  Explained  in  11.  545,  6. 


157 


OVID 


Sed  neque  vector  equum,  qui  nuper  sensit  habenas,  555 
Comparibus  frenis  artificemque  reget, 

Nec  stabiles  animos  annis  viridemque  iuventam 
Ut  capias,  idem  limes  agendus  erit. 

Hic  rudis  et  castris  nunc  primum  notus  Amoris, 

Qui  tetigit  thalamos  praeda  novella  tuos,  560 

Te  solam  norit,  tibi  semper  inhaereat  uni ; 

Cingenda  est  altis  saepibus  ista  seges. 

Effuge  rivalem  :  vinces,  dum  sola  tenebis ; 

Non  bene  cum  sociis  regna  Venusque  manent. 

Ille  vetus  miles  sensim  et  sapienter  amabit,  565 

Multaque  tironi  non  patienda  feret : 

Nec  franget  postes,  nec  saevis  ignibus  uret. 

Nec  dominae  teneras  ad  petet  ungue  genas. 

Nec  scindet  tunicasve  suas  tunicasve  puellae. 

Nec  raptus  flendi  causa  capillus  erit.  570 

Ista  decent  pueros  aetate  et  amore  calentes ; 

Hic  fera  composita  vulnera  mente  feret. 

Ignibus  heu  lentis  uretur,  ut  umida  faena. 

Ut  modo  montanis  silva  recisa  iugis. 

Certior  hic  amor  est :  brevis  et  fecundior  ille  ;  575 

Quae  fugiunt,  celeri  carpite  poma  manu. 

Omnia  tradantur  :  portas  reseravimus  hosti ; 

Et  sit  in  infida  proditione  fides. 

Quod  datur  ex  facili,  longum  male  nuti'it  amorem  : 

Miscenda  est  laetis  rara  repulsa  iocis.  580 

Ante  fores  iaceat,  “  crudelis  ianua !  ”  dicat. 

Multaque  summisse,  multa  minanter  agat. 

Dulcia  non  ferimus  :  suco  renovemur  amaro  ; 

Saepe  perit  ventis  obruta  cumba  suis  ; 

Hoc  est,  uxores  quod  non  patiatur  amari  ;  585 

Conveniunt  illas,  cum  voluere,  viri ; 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


the  same  bridle  for  a  horse  who  but  lately  felt  the 
reins  and  for  one  who  knows  his  paces ;  nor  must 
the  same  path  be  taken  to  catch  discreet  age  and 
tender  youth.  This  raw  recruit,  now  first  known  to 
Love’s  campaigning,  who  has  come,  a  new  prey,  to 
your  chamber-door — let  him  know  none  but  you, 
let  him  cling  to  you  alone ;  high  is  the  fence  that 
must  guard  that  tender  crop.  Avoid  a  rival :  you 
will  prevail,  so  long  as  you  alone  have  power ;  in 
partnership  neither  thrones  nor  love  stand  sure.^ 
But  the  veteran  will  come  gradually  and  prudently  to 
love,  and  will  bear  much  a  recruit  would  not  endure  ; 
he  will  not  break  doors  nor  burn  them  with  fierce 
flames,  nor  attack  with  his  nails  the  soft  cheeks  of 
his  mistress,  nor  rend  his  own  nor  his  lady’s  clothes, 
nor  will  torn  tresses  be  a  cause  of  weeping.  Such 
doings  suit  lads  aflame  with  youth  and  love  ;  but  he 
will  bear  bitter  smarts  composedly,  he  will  burn,  ah, 
with  slow  fires  like  a  humid  torch,  like  timber  lately 
cut  from  the  mountain  ridge.  Such  love  is  surer ; 
the  other  is  richer  but  brief ;  pluck  with  quick  hand 
the  fruit  that  quickly  passes. 

Let  all  be  revealed  :  we  have  flung  our  gates  open 
to  the  foe,  and  in  faithless  treason  let  us  keep 
faith.  What  is  easily  given  ill  fosters  an  enduring 
love ;  let  an  occasional  repulse  vary  your  merry 
sport.  Let  him  lie  before  your  gate;  let  him  cry, 
“Ah,  cruel  door!”  and  play  the  suppliant  oft,  and 
oft  the  threatener.  We  cannot  bear  sweetness ;  let 
us  be  refreshed  by  bitter  juices ;  oft  is  a  vessel  sunk 
by  favouring  winds  ;  ’tis  this  which  prevents  wives 
from  being  loved :  to  them  their  husbands  come 

^  i.e.  kings  and  lovers  must  rule  alone,  cf.  “nulla  societas 
nec  fides  regni  est,”  Cie.  Ofif.  i.  8.  26. 

159 


OVID 


Adde  forem,  et  duro  dicat  tibi  ianitor  ore 

“  Non  potes,”  exclusum  te  quoque  tanget  amor. 
Ponite  iam  gladios  hebetes  :  pugnetur  acutis  ; 

Nec  dubito,  telis  quin  petar  ipse  meis.  590 

Dum  cadit  in  laqueos  captus  quoque  nuper  amatoi'. 
Solum  se  thalamos  speret  habere  tuos. 

Postmodo  rivalem  partitaque  foedera  lecti 
Sentiat  ;  has  artes  tolle,  senescit  amor. 

Tum  bene  fortis  equus  reserato  carcere  currit,  595 

Cum  quos  praetereat,  quosque  sequatur,  habet. 
Quamlibet  extinctos  iniuria  suscitat  ignes  : 

En,  ego  (confiteor  !)  non  nisi  laesus  amo. 

Causa  tamen  nimium  non  sit  manifesta  doloris, 

Pluraque  sollicitus,  quam  sciet,  esse  putet.  600 

Incitat  et  ficti  tristis  custodia  servi. 

Et  nimium  duri  cura  molesta  viri. 

Quae  venit  ex  tuto,  minus  est  accepta  voluptas  : 

Ut  sis  liberior  Thaide,  finge  metus. 

Cum  melius  foribus  possis,  admitte  fenestra,  605 

Inque  tuo  vultu  signa  timentis  habe. 

Callida  prosiliat,  dicatque  ancilla  “  perimus  !  ” 

Tu  iuvenem  trepidum  quolibet  abde  loco. 

Admiscenda  tamen  venus  est  secura  timori. 

Ne  tanti  noctes  non  putet  esse  tuas.  610 

Qua  vafer  eludi  possit  ratione  maritus, 

Quaque  vigil  custos,  praeteriturus  eram. 

Nupta  virum  timeat  :  rata  sit  custodia  nuptae  ; 

Hoc  decet,  hoc  leges  iusque  pudorque  iubent. 

Te  quoque  servari,  modo  quam  vindicta  redemit,  615 
Quis  ferat  }  Ut  fallas,  ad  mea  sacra  veni ! 

^  i.e.  any  husband.  ^  The  celebrated  Athenian  courtesan. 
®  The  praetor  touched  with  the  rod  the  slave  that  u  as  to  be 
set  free.  He  is  addressing  “libertinae,”  emancipated  slave-girls. 

i6o 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


whenever  they  will;  add  but  a  door,  and  let  a 
doorkeeper  say  to  you  ^  with  stubborn  mouth,  “  You 
cannot ;  ”  once  shut  out,  you  too,  sir,  will  be  touched 
by  love.  Throw  down  the  foils  now,  and  fight  with 
sharpened  swords;  nor  do  I  doubt  that  I  shall  be 
attacked  with  my  own  weapons,  While  a  lover 
lately  ensnared  is  falling  into  the  toils,  let  him  hope 
that  he  alone  has  the  right  to  your  chamber ;  later 
on  let  him  be  aware  of  a  rival  and  of  the  shared 
privilege  of  your  couch ;  neglect  these  devices  and 
his  love  will  wane.  The  valiant  horse  races  best,  at 
the  banker’s  fall,  when  he  has  others  to  follow  and 
o’erpass.  Fires,  howe’er  extinct,  are  aroused  by 
injury;  lo,  myself  (I  confess)  save  when  hurt,  I  cannot 
love.  But  let  the  cause  of  pain  be  not  too  manifest, 
and  in  his  vexation  let  him  fancy  more  than  he 
knows.  The  surly  guardianship  of  a  pretended 
slave  excites  him,  and  the  irksome  vigilance  of  a 
husband  too  severe.  Pleasure  safely  enjoyed  is  less 
welcome  ;  though  you  be  freer  than  Thais  ^  pretend 
to  fears.  Though  it  were  easier  by  the  door,  admit 
him  by  the  window,  and  show  signs  of  fright  upon 
your  face.  Let  a  clever  maid  hurry  in,  and  cry, 
“  We  are  undone  !  ”  conceal  the  frightened  youth  in 
any  hiding-place.  Yet  with  fear  must  be  mingled 
secure  enjoyment,  lest  he  think  your  nights  are  not 
worth  while. 

How  a  crafty  husband  or  a  vigilant  guardian  may 
be  deceived  I  was  about  to  pass  by;  let  the  bride 
fear  her  spouse,  let  the  guarding  of  a  bride  be  sure  ; 
that  is  seemly,  that  the  laws  and  right  and  modesty 
command :  but  that  you  too  should  be  watched, 
whom  the  rod®  has  lately  redeemed,  who  could 
endure  ?  Attend  my  rites  that  you  may  learn  to 

i6i 

M 


OVID 


Tot  licet  observent  (adsit  modo  certa  voluntas), 

Quot  fuerant  Argo  lumina,  verba  dabis. 

Scilicet  obstabit  custos,  ne  scribere  possis. 

Sumendae  detur  cum  tibi  tempus  aquae  ?  620 

Conscia  cum  possit  scriptas  portare  tabellas. 

Quas  tegat  in  tepido  fascia  lata  sinu  ? 

Cum  possit  sura  chartas  celare  ligatas, 

Et  vineto  blandas  sub  pede  ferre  notas  ? 

Caverit  haec  custos,  pro  charta  conscia  tergum  625 
Praebeat,  inque  suo  corpore  verba  ferat. 

Tuta  quoque  est  fallitque  oculos  e  lacte  recenti 
Littera  :  carbonis  pulvere  tange,  leges. 

Fallet  et  umiduli  quae  fiet  acumine  lini, 

Et  feret  occultas  pura  tabella  notas.  630 

Adfuit  Acrisio  servandae  cura  puellae  : 

Hunc  tamen  illa  suo  crimine  fecit  avum. 

Quid  faciat  custos,  cum  sint  tot  in  urbe  theatra. 

Cum  spectet  iunctos  illa  libenter  equos. 

Cum  sedeat  Phariae  sistris  operata  iuvencae,  635 

Quoque  sui  comites  ire  vetantur,  eat. 

Cum  fuget  a  templis  oculos  Bona  Diva  virorum. 

Praeterquam  siquos  illa  venire  iubet  ? 

Cum,  custode  foris  tunicas  servante  puellae. 

Celent  furtivos  balnea  multa  iocos,  640 

Cum,  quotiens  opus  est,  fallax  aegrotet  amica, 

Et  cedat  lecto  quamlibet  aegra  suo. 

Nomine  cum  doceat,  quid  agamus,  adultera  clavis. 
Quasque  petas  non  det  ianua  sola  vias  ? 

^  Sympathetic  ink  being  unknown  to  the  ancients,  they  used 
a  sort  of  “milk”  which  on  being  treated  with  charcoal  revealed 
the  writing  ;  Brandt  quotes  Pliny  (26.  62),  who  mentions  a  plant 
which  had  exactly  such  a  power  ;  its  name  was  “  tithymalum,” 
called  by  the  Romans  “herba  lactaria”  or  “lactuca  caprina;” 
cf.  Ausonius,  JSp.  28.  31.  The  same  effect  is  produced,  according 
to  Ovid,  by  writing  with  a  stalk  of  wet  flax. 

162 


ART  OF  LOVE:  HI 


deceive.  Though  as  many  keep  watch  as  Argus  had 
eyes  (so  your  purpose  be  but  firm),  you  will  deceive 
them.  Will  a  guardian  forsooth  prevent  your  writing, 
when  time  is  allowed  you  for  taking  a  bath  ?  when  a 
confidant  can  carry  a  written  tablet,  concealed  by  a 
broad  band  on  her  warm  bosom when  she  can  hide 
a  paper  packet  in  her  stocking,  and  bear  your 
coaxing  message  ’twixt  foot  and  sandal  ?  Should  the 
guardian  beware  of  this  !  let  the  confidant  offer  her 
back  for  your  note,  and  bear  your  words  upon  her 
body.  A  letter  too  is  safe  and  escapes  the  eye, 
when  written  in  new  milk  touch  it  with  coal-dust, 
and  you  will  read.  That  too  will  deceive  which  is 
written  with  a  stalk  of  moistened  flax,  and  a  pure 
sheet  will  bear  hidden  marks.^  Acrisius  used  dili¬ 
gence  to  guard  his  daughter  :  yet  by  her  own  crime 
she  made  him  a  grandsire.  What  can  a  guardian 
do,  when  there  are  so  many  theatres  in  the  city  ? 
when  she  delights  to  watch  the  teams  of  horses.^ 
when  she  sits  doing  honour  with  the  sistrum  to  the 
Pharian  heifer,  and  goes  where  her  male  attendants 
are  forbidden  to  go  when  the  Good  Goddess  repels 
from  the  temple  the  eyes  of  men,  except  such  as  she 
bids  come  there  herself.?  when,  while  the  guardian 
keeps  the  girl’s  clothes  without,  the  numerous  baths 
hide  furtive  sport .?  when,  so  often  as  is  needful,  the 
cunning  friend  falls  sick,  and,  however  ailing,  with¬ 
draws  from  her  own  bed?^  when  by  its  very  name  the 
adulterate  ^  key  tells  us  what  to  do,  and  not  only  the 
door  permits  the  passage  you  demand  ?  Much  wine, 

2  Perhaps  this  may  refer  to  wax  not  written  on,  but  cover¬ 
ing  marks  on  the  wood  underneath. 

^  i.e.  to  let  the  lover  take  her  place. 

*  i.e.  false. 


M  2 


163 


OVID 


Fallitur  et  multo  custodis  cura  Lyaeo  :  645 

Illa  vel  Hispano  lecta  sit  uva  iugo  ; 

Sunt  quoque,  quae  faciant  altos  medicamina  somnos, 
Victaque  Lethaea  lumina  nocte  premant ; 

Nec  male  deliciis  odiosum  conscia  tardis 

Detinet,  et  longa  iungitur  ipsa  mora.  650 

Quid  iuvat  ambages  praeceptaque  parva  movere. 

Cum  minimo  custos  munere  possit  emi  ? 

Munera,  crede  mihi,  capiunt  hominesque  deosque; 

Placatur  donis  luppiter  ipse  datis. 

Quid  sapiens  faciet?  (stultus  quoque  munere  gaudet;)  655 
Ipse  quoque  accepto  munere  mutus  erit. 

Sed  semel  est  custos  longum  redimendus  in  aevum  : 

Saepe  dabit,  dederit  quas  semel  ille  manus. 

Questus  eram,  memini,  metuendos  esse  sodales  ; 

Non  tangit  solos  ista  querella  viros.  660 

Credula  si  fueris,  aliae  tua  gaudia  carpent. 

Et  lepus  hic  aliis  exagitatus  erit. 

Haec  quoque,  quae  praebet  lectum  studiosa  locumque 
Crede  mihi,  mecum  non  semel  illa  fuit. 

Nec  nimium  vobis  formosa  ancilla  ministret  ;  665 

Saepe  vicem  dominae  praebuit  illa  mihi. 

Quo  feror  insanus  ?  quid  aperto  pectore  in  hostem 
Mittoi-,  et  indicio  prodor  ab  ipse  meo  ? 

Non  avis  aucupibus  monstrat,  qua  parte  petatur  : 

Non  docet  infestos  currere  cerva  canes.  670 

Viderit  utilitas  :  ego  coepta  fideliter  edam  : 

Lemniasin  gladios  in  mea  fata  dabo. 

Efficite  (et  facile  est),  ut  nos  credamus  amari  : 

Prona  venit  cupidis  in  sua  vota  fides. 

^  Spanish  wines  were  not  thought  much  of  at  Rome. 

^  i.e.  the  maid  who  helps  her  mistress. 

®  i.e.  will  the  wise  man  he  found  as  corruptible  as  the  fool? 
Yes,  he  will. 

164 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


too,  will  baffle  a  guardian’s  care,  even  though  the 
grape  be  picked  on  Spanish  slopes  ^ ;  there  are 
dru  gs,  too,  which  induce  deep  slumber,  and  steep 
the  vanquished  eyes  in  Lethaean  night ;  easily  too 
does  a  confidant  ^  detain  the  hateful  fellow  with  tardy 
dalliance,  and  keep  him  by  her  own  side  in  long 
delays.  What  avails  it  to  make  a  long  tale  of  trivial 
pi’ecepts,  when  a  small  bribe  will  buy  the  guardian  ? 
Bribes,  believe  me,  buy  both  gods  and  men  ;  Jupiter 
himself  is  aj)peased  by  tlie  offering  of  gifts.  What 
will  the  wise  man  do  ?  (for  the  fool  also  delights  in  a 
bribe ;)  he  too  when  bribed  will  hold  his  tongue.^ 
But  the  guardian  must  be  bought  outright  for  a  long 
time ;  the  service  he  has  given  once  he  will  often 
give.  Once  I  lamented,  I  remember,  that  com¬ 
rades  were  to  be  feared  :  ’tis  not  men  only  that  my 
lament  touches.  If  you  are  credulous,  other  women 
will  reap  your  joys,  and  that  hare  ^  will  be  hunted  by 
others.  She  too,  who  eagerly  offers  bed  and  room, 
not  once  only,  believe  me,  has  she  been  with  me.® 
Nor  let  the  pretty  serving-maid  be  too  helpful: 
often  has  she  played  her  mistress’  part  for  me. 

Whither  am  I  borne  in  my  frenzy  ?  Why  rush  I 
with  open  breast  against  the  foe,  and  am  betrayed 
by  my  own  evidence  The  bird  does  not  show  the 
fowlers  where  it  may  be  hunted ;  the  hind  does  not 
teach  the  enemy  hounds  to  run.  Let  expediency 
see  to  itself ;  I  will  fulfil  my  purpose  faithfully ;  I 
will  give  the  Lemnian  women  swords  to  slay  me. 
Make  us  (and  it  is  easy)  believe  we  are  loved ;  swift 
comes  belief  to  those  whose  desires  are  keen.  Let 

*  i.e.  her  lover,  whom  other  women  will  embrace. 

®  i.e.  a  woman  who  offers  to  put  up  the  lover,  but  gains 
his  affections  in  place  of  the  mistress. 


OVID 


Spectet  amabilius  iuvenem^  suspiret  ab  imo  675 

Femina,  tam  sero  cur  veniatque  roget : 

Accedant  lacrimae,  dolor  et  de  paelice  fictus. 

Et  laniet  digitis  illius  ora  suis  ; 
lamdudum  persuasus  erit ;  miserebitur  ultro. 

Et  dicet  “  cura  carpitur  ista  mei.”  680 

Praecipue  si  cultus  erit  speculoque  placebit, 

Posse  suo  tangi  credet  amore  deas. 

Sed  te,  quaecumque  est,  moderate  iniuria  turbet. 

Nec  sis  audita  paelice  mentis  inops. 

Nec  cito  credideris  :  quantum  cito  credere  laedat,  685 
Exemplum  vobis  non  leve  Procris  erit. 

Est  prope  pui*pureos  collis  florentis  Hymetti 
Fons  sacer  et  viridi  caespite  mollis  humus  : 

Silva  nemus  non  alta  facit ;  tegit  arbutus  herbam. 

Ros  mai’is  et  lauri  nigraque  myrtus  olent :  690 

Nec  densum  foliis  buxum  fragilesque  myricae, 

Nec  tenues  cytisi  cultaque  pinus  abest. 

Lenibus  inpulsae  zephyris  auraque  salubri 

Tot  generum  frondes  herbaque  summa  tremit. 

Grata  quies  Cephalo  :  famulis  canibusque  relictis  695 
Lassus  in  hac  invenis  saepe  resedit  humo, 

“  Quae  ’’  que  ^^meos  releves  aestus,”  cantare  solebat 
“  Accipienda  sinu,  mobilis  aura,  veni,” 

Coniugis  ad  timidas  aliquis  male  sedulus  aures 

Auditos  memori  detulit  ore  sonos ;  700 

Procris  ut  accepit  nomen,  quasi  paelicis.  Aurae, 

Excidit,  et  subito  muta  dolore  fuit ; 

Palluit,  ut  serae  lectis  de  vite  racemis 

Pallescunt  frondes,  quas  nova  laesit  hiemps. 

Quaeque  suos  curvant  matura  cydonia  ramos,  705 

Cornaque  adhuc  nostris  non  satis  apta  cibis. 


i66 


^  Thia  atory  is  also  told  in  Metam.  7.  796  sqq. 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


the  woman  regard  the  youth  with  more  loving  looks, 
and  deeply  sigh,  and  ask  why  he  comes  so  late  :  let 
tears  be  added,  and  feigned  wrath  about  a  rival ; 
and  let  her  tear  his  cheeks  with  her  nails  :  long 
since  will  he  have  been  persuaded  ;  he  will  be  quick 
to  pity,  and  will  say,  “  For  love  of  me  is  she  distressed.” 
Particularly  if  he  be  well  dressed  and  approved 
by  his  glass  will  he  believe  that  goddesses  could  fall 
in  love  with  him.  But,  however  he  wrong  you,  let  it 
disturb  you  but  little,  nor  be  put  out  when  you  hear 
of  a  rival.  Nor  be  quick  to  believe :  what  harm 
quick  belief  can  do,  Procris  will  be  to  you  a  weighty 
warning. 

Near  the  purple  hills  of  flowery  Hymettus  ^  there 
is  a  sacred  spring  and  ground  soft  with  green  turf : 
trees  of  no  great  height  form  a  grove  ;  arbutus 
covers  the  grass,  and  rosemary,  bays  and  dark  myrtles 
are  fragrant ;  nor  is  the  thick  foliage  of  the  box-tree 
lacking,  or  fragile  tamarisks  and  tender  lucerne  and 
the  cultivated  pine.  Gentle  zephyrs  and  health¬ 
giving  breezes  sway  the  varied  foliage,  and  the  tips 
of  the  grasses  tremble.  Sweet  sleep  was  upon 
Cephalus  ;  leaving  servants  and  hounds  the  youth 
often  rested  in  this  spot  when  weary,  and,  “  Come, 
wandering  Aura,”  was  he  wont  to  sing,  ^^come  to  my 
bosom  and  refresh  my  sultriness.”  To  his  wife’s 
timid  ears  some  foolish  busy-body  reported  with 
mindful  utterance  the  sounds  he  had  heard;  when 
Procris  heard  the  name  of  Aura,  a  rival,  as  she  thought, 
she  fainted,  and  was  speechless  with  sudden  grief  : 
she  paled,  as  pale  the  late  leaves  upon  clusters  of  the 
vine,  hurt  by  the  first  breath  of  winter,  and  as  ripe 
quinces  that  bend  their  boughs  are  pale,  and  cornel- 
berries  not  yet  fit  for  human  food.  When  her  spirits 

167 


OVID 


Ut  I’ediit  animus,  tenues  a  pectore  vestes 
Rumpit,  et  indignas  sauciat  ungue  genas ; 

Nec  mora,  per  medias  passis  furibunda  capillis 
Evolat,  ut  thyrso  concita  Baccha,  vias. 

Ut  prope  perventum,  comites  in  valle  relinquit. 

Ipsa  nemus  tacito  clam  pede  fortis  init. 

Quid  tibi  mentis  erat,  cum  sic  male  sana  lateres, 
Procri  quis  adtoniti  pectoris  ardor  erat  ? 

lam  iam  venturam,  quaecumque  erat  Aura,  putabas 
Scilicet,  atque  oculis  probra  videnda  tuis. 

Nunc  venisse  piget  (neque  enim  deprendere  velles). 
Nunc  iuvat  :  incertus  pectora  versat  amor. 

Credere  quae  iubeant,  locus  est  et  nomen  et  index. 
Et  quia  mens  semper  quod  timet,  esse  putat. 

Vidit  ut  oppressa  vestigia  corporis  herba. 

Pulsantur  trejiidi  corde  micante  sinus. 

lamque  dies  medius  tenues  contraxerat  umbras, 
Inque  pari  spatio  vesper  et  ortus  erant ; 

Ecce,  redit  Cephalus  silvis,  Cyllenia  proles. 

Oraque  fontana  fervida  pulsat  aqua. 

Anxia,  Procri,  lates  :  solitas  iacet  ille  per  herbas. 

Et  zephyri  molles  auraque  ”  dixit  “  ades  !  ” 

Ut  patuit  miserae  iucundus  nominis  erroi', 

Et  mens  et  rediit  verus  in  ora  color. 

Surgit,  et  oppositas  agitato  corpore  frondes 
Movit,  in  amplexus  uxor  itura  viri ; 

Ille  fei’am  movisse  I’atus,  iuvenaliter  artus 
Corripit,  in  dextra  tela  fuere  manu. 

Quid  facis,  infelix  ?  non  est  fera,  supprime  tela ! 

Me  miserum  !  iaculo  fixa  puella  tuo  est. 

720  mens  H :  amans  M8S.  and  Heinsius. 


710 

715 

720 

725 

730 

735 


i68 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 

returned^  she  plucked  the  frail  garment  from 
her  breast,  and  marred  with  her  nails  her  innocent 
cheeks  ;  and  straightway  with  streaming  hair  she 
flies  through  the  streets  in  frenzy,  like  a  Bacchant 
sped  by  the  thyrsus.  When  she  drew  nigh,  she  left  her 
comrades  in  the  vale,  and  herself  secretly  with  silent 
step  bravely  entered  the  wood.  What  were  thy 
feelings,  Procris,  when  thus  frantic  thou  lurkedst 
there  ?  What  a  fire  was  in  thy  maddened  heart ! 
Soon  would  she  come,  that  Aura,  whoe’er  she  might 
be  (so  didst  thou  think),  and  thine  own  eyes  would 
see  the  shame.  Now  dost  thou  regret  thy  coming  (for 
thou  could’st  not  wish  to  find  him  guilty),  now  ai't 
thou  glad :  this  way  and  that  love  sways  thy  heart. 
To  commend  belief  there  is  the  name  and  the  place 
and  the  informer,  and  because  the  mind  ever  thinks 
its  fears  are  true.  When  she  saw'  the  mark  of  a  body 
on  the  flattened  grass,  her  leaping  heart  beats  within 
her  fearful  bosom.  And  now  midday  had  drawn  short 
the  unsubstantial  shadows,  and  evening  and  morning 
were  of  equal  length  :  lo  !  Cephalus,  son  of 
Cyllene,  returns  from  the  woods,  and  scatters 
spring  water  on  his  glowing  cheeks.  Anxiously, 
Procris,  thou  Rest  hid :  he  rests  on  the  wonted 
grass,  and  cries,  “  Come,  breeze,  come  tender 
Zephyrs !  ”  When  the  name’s  pleasing  error  was 
manifest  to  the  hapless  woman,  her  reason  re¬ 
turned,  and  the  true  colour  to  her  face.  She  rises, 
and  speeding  to  her  lover’s  embrace  stirred  with 
her  hurrying  frame  the  leaves  that  were  in  her 
way  :  he  thinking  he  saw  a  quarry  leapt  up  with 
youthful  ardour,  and  his  weapon  was  in  his  hand. 
What  dost  thou,  hapless  one  ?  ’tis  no  beast :  drop 
thy  bow.  Woe  is  me  !  thy  dart  has  pierced  the 

169 


OVID 


“  Ei  mihi  !  ”  conclamat  ‘‘  fixisti  pectus  amicum. 

Hic  locus  a  Cephalo  vulnera  semper  habet. 

Ante  diem  morior^  sed  nulla  paelice  laesa  ; 

Hoc  faciet  positae  te  mihi,  terra,  levem.  740 

Nomine  suspectas  iam  spiritus  exit  in  auras  : 

Labor,  io,  cara  lumina  conde  manu  !  ” 

Ille  sinu  dominae  morientia  corpora  maesto 
Sustinet,  et  lacrimis  vulnera  saeva  lavat  : 

Exit,  et  incauto  paulatim  pectore  lapsus  745 

Excipitur  miseri  spiritus  ore  viri. 

Sed  repetamus  opus ;  mihi  nudis  rebus  eundum  est, 

Ut  tangat  portus  fessa  carina  suos. 

Sollicite  expectas,  dum  te  in  convivia  ducam. 

Et  quaeris  monitus  hac  quoque  parte  meos.  750 

Sera  veni,  positaque  decens  incede  lucerna  : 

Grata  mora  venies  ;  maxima  lena  mora  est. 

Etsi  turpis  eris,  formosa  videbere  potis. 

Et  latebras  vitiis  nox  dabit  ipsa  tuis. 

Cai'pe  cibos  digitis  :  est  quiddam  gestus  edendi  :  755 

Ora  nec  immunda  tota  perungue  manu. 

Neve  domi  praesume  dapes,  sed  desine  citra 
Quam  capis  ;  es  paulo  quam  potes  esse  minus  ; 
Priamides  Helenen  avide  si  spectet  edentem, 

Oderit,  et  dicat  “stulta  rapina  mea  est.”  760 

Aptius  est,  deceatque  magis  potare  puellas  : 

Cum  Veneris  puero  non  male,  Bacche,  facis. 

Hoc  quoque,  qua  patiens  caput  est,  animusque  pedesque 
Constant :  nec,  quae  sunt  singula,  bina  vide. 

749  sollicite  R  anci  some  M8S. :  scilicet  most  M8S.  :  expectas 
3188.  ■  expectes  R. 

752  venies  3188.  :  veniens  R  :  est  Venei’i  Heinsius. 

757,  8  neve  R :  sive  Heinsius  :  sed  R  :  seu  Heinsius:  capis  es 
Heinsius,  31adng :  capeis  R. 

170 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


maid.  “  Alas !”  she  cries,  thou  hast  pierced  a 
friendly  breast :  this  spot  hath  ever  a  wound  from 
Cephalus.  Untimely  I  die,  yet  injured  by  no  rival: 
this  will  make  thee,  earth,  lie  lightly  on  my  bones. 
Now  goes  my  spirit  out  upon  the  air  whose  name  I 
once  suspected :  alas  !  I  am  failing ;  close  my  eyes 
with  the  hand  I  love.”  He  raises  to  his  sad  bosom 
his  lady’s  dying  form,  and  laves  the  cruel  wound  in 
tears  :  her  spirit  passes,  and  ebbing  little  by  little 
from  her  rash  breast  is  caught  upon  her  unhappy 
lover’s  lips. 

But  let  us  back  to  our  work !  with  unveiled 
matters  must  I  deal,  if  my  weary  bark  is  to  reach  her 
haven.  Anxiously  are  you  expecting  me  to  lead  you 
to  the  feast ;  here  too  do  you  await  my  counsels. 
Come  late,  and  make  a  graceful  entrance  when  the 
lamp  has  been  set :  delay  will  enhance  your  charm  : 
a  great  procuress  is  delay.  Though  plain,  to  the 
tipsy  you  will  seem  fair  :  and  night  herself  will  hide 
your  faults.  Help  yourself  with  your  fingers  : 
manners  in  eating  count  for  something ;  and  smear 
not  all  your  face  with  a  soiled  hand.  And  do  not  take 
your  meal  beforehand  at  home,  but  stop  short  of 
your  appetite  ;  eat  somewhat  less  than  you  are  able  ;  ^ 
if  Priam’s  son  saw  Helen  eating  greedily,  he  would 
hate  her  and  say,  “  My  prize  is  a  foolish  woman.” 
Better  suited  is  drinking,  and  were  more  becoming  in  a 
woman  :  not  badly  goest  thou,  Bacchus,  with  Venus’ 
son.  This  too  note,  when  the  head  endures,  the 
mind  and  feet  are  also  firm  ;  do  not  see  double  where 

^  i.e.  do  not  eat  first  at  home  and  so  have  no  appetite,  but 
(on  the  other  hand)  do  not  indulge  the  latter  to  the  full. 
Reading  “  sivo  .  .  .  seu,”  the  sense  is  “in  order  not  to  seem 
gluttonous,  either  have  some  food  at  home  first,  or  stop  short 
of  your  appetite  when  at  dinner.  ” 

171 


OVID 


Turpe  iacens  mulier  multo  madefacta  Lyaeo  :  765 

Digna  est  concubitus  quoslibet  illa  pati. 

Nec  somnis  posita  tutum  succumbere  mensa  : 

Per  somnos  fieri  multa  pudenda  solent. 

Ulteriora  pudet  docuisse  :  sed  alma  Dione 

“Praecipue  nostrum  esL  quod  pudet”  inquit  “opus.” 

Nota  sibi  sint  quaeque  :  modos  a  corpore  certos  771 
Sumite  ;  non  omnes  una  figura  decet. 

Quae  facie  praesignis  erit,  resupina  iaceto  : 

Spectentur  tergo,  quis  sua  terga  placent. 

Milanion  umeris  Atalantes  crura  ferebat  ;  775 

Si  bona  sunt,  hoc  sunt  accipienda  modo. 

Parva  vehatur  equo  :  quod  erat  longissima,  numquam 
Thebais  Hectoreo  nupta  resedit  equo. 

Strata  premat  genibus,  paulum  cervice  reflexa. 

Femina  per  longum  conspicienda  latus.  780 

Cui  femur  est  iuvenale,  carent  quoque  pectora  menda. 
Stet  vir,  in  obliquo  fusa  sit  ipsa  toro. 

Nec  tibi  turpe  puta  crinem,  ut  Phylleia  mater. 

Solvere,  et  effusis  colla  reflecte  comis. 

Tu  quoque,  cui  rugis  uterum  Lucina  notavit,  785 

Ut  celer  aversis  utere  Parthus  equis. 

Mille  modi  veneris  ;  simplex  minimique  laboris. 

Cum  iacet  in  dextrum  semisupina  latus. 

Sed  neque  Phoebei  tripodes,  nec  corniger  Ammon 
Vera  magis  vobis,  quam  mea  Musa,  canet  ;  700 

Siqua  fides,  arti,  quam  longo  fecimus  usu. 

Credite  :  praestabunt  carmina  nostra  fidem. 

Sentiat  ex  imis  venerem  resoluta  medullis 
Femina,  et  ex  aequo  res  iuvet  illa  duos. 

776  accipienda  Heinsms  {from  a  MS.):  aspicienda  R. 


^  See  Horn.  II.  vi.  *  i.e.  Thessalian,  perhaps  Laodamia. 

172 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


thei'e  is  but  one.  A  woman  lying  steeped  in  wine 
is  an  ugly  sight ;  she  deserves  to  endure  any  union 
whatever.  Nor  is  it  safe  when  the  table  is  cleared 
to  fall  asleep ;  in  sleep  much  happens  that  is 
shameful. 

What  remains  I  blush  to  tell;  but  kindly  Dione 
says,  “  What  brings  a  blush  is  before  all  else  my 
business.”  Let  each  woman  know  herself;  from 
your  own  bodies  fix  your  methods ;  one  fashion  does 
not  suit  all  alike.  Let  her  who  is  fair  of  face  recline 
upon  her  back ;  let  those  whose  backs  please  them 
be  seen  from  behind.  Milanion  bore  Atalanta’s  legs 
upon  his  shoulders ;  if  they  are  comely,  let  them  be 
taken  thus.  A  small  woman  should  ride  astride ; 
because  she  was  tall,  his  Theban  ^  bride  never  sat 
Hector  like  a  horse.  A  woman  whose  long  flanks 
deserve  to  be  seen  should  press  the  coverlets  wil  h 
her  knees,  her  neck  bent  backward  somewhat.  If 
her  thighs  be  youthful  and  her  breasts  without 
blemish,  her  lover  should  stand,  and  she  herself 
lie  slantwise  on  the  couch.  Nor  think  it  unbecoming 
to  loose  your  hair,  like  the  Phylleian  mother,^  and  bend 
back  your  neck  amid  flowing  tresses.  And  you  whose 
belly  Lucina  has  marked  with  wrinkles,  like  the 
swift  Parthian,  use  a  backward-turned  steed.  There 
are  a  thousand  modes  of  love ;  a  simple  one,  and 
least  fatiguing,  is  when  the  woman  lies  upon  her 
right  side,  half-reclined.  But  neither  Phoebus’ 
tripods  nor  hoi’ned  Ammon  will  tell  you  more  truth 
than  does  my  Muse  :  if  an  art  I  have  learnt  by  long 
experience  be  trustworthy,  give  credence  :  my  poems 
will  warrant  for  its  truth.  Let  the  woman  feel  love’s 
act,  unstrung  to  the  very  depths  of  her  frame,  and 
let  that  act  delight  both  alike.  Nor  let  winning 

173 


OVID 


Nec  blandae  voces  iucundaque  murmura  cessent,  795 
Nec  taceant  mediis  improba  verba  iocis. 

Tu  quoque,  cui  veneris  sensum  natura  negavit, 

Dulcia  mendaci  gaudia  finge  sono. 

Infelix,  cui  torpet  hebes  locus  ille,  puella, 

Quo  pariter  debent  femina  virque  frui,  800 

Tantum,  cum  finges,  ne  sis  manifesta,  caveto  : 

Effice  per  motum  luminaque  ipsa  fidem. 

Quam  iuvet,  et  voces  et  anhelitus  ai’guat  oris  ; 

A  !  pudet,  arcanas  pars  habet  ista  notas. 

Gaudia  post  Veneris  quae  poscet  munus  amantem,  805 
Illa  saas  nolet  pondus  habere  preces. 

Nec  lucem  in  thalamos  totis  admitte  fenestris ; 

Aptius  in  vestro  coiqiore  multa  latent. 

Lusus  habet  finem  :  cygnis  descendere  tempus. 

Duxerunt  collo  qui  iuga  nostra  suo.  810 

Ut  quondam  iuvenes,  ita  nunc,  mea  turba,  puellae 
Inscribant  spoliis  “Naso  magister  erat.” 


174 


ART  OF  LOVE:  III 


sounds  and  pleasant  murmurs  cease^  nor  in  the 
midst  of  the  play  let  naughty  words  be  hushed. 
You  to  Avhom  nature  has  denied  the  sensation  of 
love,  counterfeit  the  sweet  bliss  with  lying  sounds. 
Unhappy  the  woman  for  whom  that  place,  whereof 
man  and  woman  ought  to  have  joy  alike,  is  dull  and 
unfeeling.  Only,  when  you  pretend,  see  that  you 
are  not  caught :  win  assurance  by  your  movements 
and  even  by  your  eyes.  Let  your  words  and  panting 
breath  make  clear  your  pleasm-e ;  ah,  for  shame ! 
that  part  of  your  body  has  its  secret  signs.  She  that 
after  love’s  joys  will  ask  a  lover  for  reward  will  not 
wish  her  prayers  to  have  much  weight.  And  let  not 
light  into  your  room  by  all  the  windows ;  it  is  better 
that  much  of  your  body  should  be  hidden. 

Our  sport  is  ended :  it  is  time  to  step  down  from 
the  swans  whose  necks  have  drawn  my  cai’.  As 
once  the  youths,  so  now  let  the  women,  my  votaries, 
write  upon  their  spoils,  Naso  was  our  master. 


17s 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


REMEDIORUM  AMORIS 


Legerat  huius  Amoi*  titulum  nomenque  libelli  ; 

“  Bella  mihij  video,  bella  parantur  ”  ait. 

“  Parce  tuum  vatem  sceleris  damnare,  Cupido, 

Tradita  qui  toties  te  duce  signa  tuli. 

Non  ego  Tydides,  a  quo  tua  saucia  mater  6 

In  liquidum  rediit  aethera  Martis  equis. 

Saepe  tepent  alii  iuvenes  :  ego  semper  amavi. 

Et  si,  quid  faciam  nunc  quoque,  quaeris,  amo. 

Quin  etiam  docui,  qua  posses  arte  parari. 

Et  quod  nunc  ratio  est,  impetus  ante  fuit.  10 

Nec  te,  blande  puer,  nec  nostras  prodimus  artes. 

Nec  nova  praeteritum  Musa  retexit  opus. 

Siquis  amat  quod  amare  iuvat,  feliciter  ardet : 

Gaudeat,  et  vento  naviget  ille  suo. 

At  siquis  male  fert  indignae  regna  puellae,  16 

Ne  pereat,  nostrae  sentiat  artis  opem. 

Cur  aliquis  laqueo  collum  nodatus  amator 
A  trabe  sublimi  triste  pependit  onus  ? 

Cur  aliquis  rigido  fodit  sua  pectora  ferro  ? 

Invidiam  caedis,  pacis  amator,  habes.  20 

Qui,  nisi  desierit,  misero  periturus  amore  est. 

Desinat ;  et  nulli  funeris  auctor  eris. 

Et  puer  es,  nec  te  quicquam  nisi  ludere  oportet : 

Lude  ;  decent  annos  mollia  regna  tuos. 

Nam  poteras  uti  nudis  ad  bella  sagittis  ;  26 

Sed  tua  mortifero  sanguine  tela  carent. 

1  Venus  was  wounded  by  Diomede  before  Troy  (Horn.,  II. 
5.  334),  and  rescued  by  Ares. 

“  In  the  three  books  of  the  preceding  poem. 

178 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

Love^^  read  the  name  and  title  of  this  book : 
“Wars/’^  said  he,  “wars  are  in  store  for  me,  I 
perceive.  “Ah,  Cupid,  hold  me  not  guilty  of  a 
crime,  who  am  thy  poet,  and  have  so  often  under 
thy  command  borne  the  standards  thou  didst  give 
me.  I  am  not  Tydeus’  son,  from  Avhom  thy  mother 
bed  back  wounded  on  Mars’  chariot  to  the  pure 
air  of  heaven.i  Other  youths  are  ofttimes  cool;  I 
have  ever  been  a  lover,  and,  shouldst  thou  ask  what 
I  am  doing  now,  I  love.  Nay  too,  I  have  taught 
by  what  skill  thou  mightest  be  gained,^  and  what 
was  impulse  then  is  science  now.  Neither  thee  do  I 
betray,  O  winsome  boy,  nor  mine  own  craft,  nor  does 
the  new  Muse  unravel  the  old  work.  If  any  lover 
has  delight  in  his  love,  blest  is  his  passion :  let  him 
rejoice  and  sail  on  with  favouring  wind.  But  if 
any  endures  the  tyranny  of  an  unworthy  mistress, 
let  him  not  perish,  but  learn  the  help  my  art  can 
give.  Why  has  some  lover  cast  the  noose  about 
his  neck,  and  hung,  a  sad  burden,  from  a  lofty 
beam  ?  Why  has  one  pierced  his  breast  with  the 
unyielding  sword  Lover  of  .peace,  thou  bearest 
the  rejjroach  of  that  murder.  He  who,  unless  he 
give  o’er,  will  die  of  hapless  love, — let  him  give 
o’er ;  and  thou  shalt  be  the  death  of  none.  Thou 
art  a  boy,  nor  does  aught  save  play  become  thee  : 
play  then ;  a  tender  rule  becomes  thy  years.  For 
thou  couldst  have  used  naked  arrows  for  thy  wars  : 
yet  thy  darts  are  free  from  deadly  blood.  Let  thy 

179 


OVID 


Vitricus  et  gladiis  et  acuta  dimicet  hasta, 

Et  victor  multa  caede  cruentus  eat : 

Tu  cole  maternas,  tuto  quibus  utimur,  artes. 

Et  quarum  vitio  nulla  fit  orba  parens. 

Effice  nocturna  frangatur  ianua  rixa. 

Et  tegat  ornatas  multa  corona  fores  : 

Fac  coeant  furtim  iuvenes  timidaeque  puellae, 
erbaque  dent  cauto  qualibet  arte  viro  ; 

Et  modo  blanditias,  rigido  modo  iurgia  posti 
Dicat,  et  exclusus  flebile  cantet  amans. 

His  lacrimis  contentus  eris  sine  crimine  mortis  ; 

Non  tua  fax  avidos  digna  subire  rogos.” 

Haec  ego  :  movit  Amor  gemmatas  aureus  alas. 

Et  mihi  ^‘propositum  perfice”  dixit  “opus.” 

Ad  mea,  decepti  iuvenes,  praecepta  venite. 

Quos  suus  ex  omni  parte  fefellit  amor. 

Discite  sanari,  per  quem  didicistis  amare  : 

Una  manus  vobis  vulnus  opemque  feret. 

Terra  salutares  herbas,  eademque  nocentes 
Nutrit,  et  urticae  proxima  saepe  rosa  est; 

Vulnus  in  Herculeo  quae  quondam  fecerat  hoste. 
Vulneris  auxilium  Pelias  hasta  tulit. 

Sed  quaecumque  viris,  vobis  quoque  dicta,  puellae. 
Credite  :  diversis  partibus  arma  damus,  50 

E  quibus  ad  vestros  siquid  non  pertinet  usus. 

Attamen  exemplo  multa  docere  potest. 

Utile  propositum  est  saevas  extinguere  flammas. 

Nec  servum  vitii  pectus  habere  sui. 

Vixisset  Phyllis,  si  me  foret  usa  magistro,  65 

Et  per  quod  novies,  saepius  isset  iter ; 


30 


36 


40 


45 


1  Telephus,  son  of  Hercules,  was  wounded  and  healed  by  the 
spear  of  Achilles. 

i8o 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


step-father  fight  with  sword  and  sharp  spear,  and 
go  triumphant  stained  with  much  shedding  of  blood  ; 
do  thou  practise  thy  mother’s  art,  which  it  is  safe 
to  use,  and  by  whose  fault  no  parent  is  bereaved. 
Make  the  door  be  broken  in  the  nightly  brawl, 
and  the  gates  be  hid  ’neath  the  decking  of  many 
a  garland  :  make  youths  and  timid  girls  keep  secret 
tryst,  and  by  whatever  art  deceive  the  cautious 
husband :  but  let  the  excluded  lover  utter  now 
blandishments,  now  reproaches  to  the  unyielding 
door-post,  and  sing  in  doleful  strain.  Those  tears 
will  content  thee  without  the  crime  of  death  ;  thy 
torch  deserves  not  to  be  set  to  greedy  pyres.” 
Thus  I,  and  Love  all  golden  moved  his  jewelled 
wings,  and,  “Finish,”  said  he,  “thy  purposed 
task.” 

Come,  hearken  to  my  precepts,  slighted  youths, 
ye  whom  your  own  love  has  utterly  betrayed. 
Learn  healing  from  him  through  whom  ye  learnt 
to  love  :  one  hand  alike  will  wound  and  succour. 
The  same  eai’th  fosters  healing  herbs  and  noxious, 
and  oft  is  the  nettle  nearest  to  the  rose ;  the 
Pelian  spear  which  wounded  once  its  Herculean 
foe,  bore  relief  also  to  the  wound.^  But  whatever 
is  said  to  men,  deem  also  said  to  you,  ye  women  : 
we  give  arms  to  the  opposing  sides,  and  if 
aught  thereof  concerns  not  your  needs,  yet  by 
example  it  can  teach  much.  A  profitable  aim  it  is  to 
extinguish  savage  flames,  and  have  a  heart  not 
enslaved  to  its  own  frailty.  Phyllis  would  have 
lived,  had  she  used  my  counsels,  and  taken  more 
often  the  path  she  took  nine  times ;  ^  nor  would 


i8i 


^  See  below  1.  591  ff.  and  Heroides  2. 


OVID 


Nec  moriens  Dido  summa  vidisset  ab  arce 
Dardanias  vento  vela  dedisse  rates  ; 

Nec  dolor  armasset  contra  sua  viscera  matrem^ 

Quae  socii  damno  sanguinis  ulta  virum  est,  60 

Arte  mea  Tereus^  quamvis  Philomela  placeret. 

Per  facinus  fieri  non  meruisset  avis. 

Da  mihi  Pasiphaen,  iam  tauri  ponet  amorem  ; 

Da  Phaedram,  Phaedrae  turpis  abibit  amor. 

Redde  Parim  nobis,  Helenen  Menelaus  habebit,  66 
Nec  manibus  Danais  Pergama  victa  cadent. 

Impia  si  nostros  legisset  Scylla  libellos. 

Haesisset  capiti  purpura,  Nise,  tuo. 

Me  duce  damnosas,  homines,  conpescite  curas. 

Rectaque  cum  sociis  me  duce  navis  eat.  70 

Naso  legendus  erat  tum,  cum  didicistis  amare  : 

Idem  nunc  vobis  Naso  legendus  erit. 

Publicus  assertor  dominis  suppressa  levabo 
Pectora  :  vindictae  quisque  favete  suae. 

Te  precor  incipiens,  adsit  tua  laurea  nobis,  75 

Carminis  et  medicae,  Phoebe,  repertor  opis. 

Tu  pariter  vati,  pariter  succurre  medenti : 

Utraque  tutelae  subdita  cura  tua  est. 

Dum  licet,  et  modici  tangunt  praecordia  motus. 

Si  piget,  in  primo  limine  siste  pedem.  80 

Opprime,  dum  nova  sunt,  subiti  mala  semina  morbi. 

Et  tuus  incipiens  ire  resistat  equus. 


^  The  reference  is  to  Medea’s  slaying  of  her  own  children  to 
punish  Jason. 

*  Tereus  ravished  Philomela,  and  was  turned  into  a  hoopoe  ; 
Pasiphae,  wife  of  Minos,  loved  a  bull,  and  bore  the  Minotaur  ; 
Phaedra,  wife  of  Theseus,  loved  her  stepson  Hippolytus  ;  Scylla, 
daughter  of  Nisus,  betrayed  him  to  her  lover  Minos  by  cutting 
off  his  lock  of  purple  hair.  ° 

182 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


dying  Dido  have  seen  from  her  citadel’s  height 
the  Dardan  vessels  spread  their  sails  to  the  wind ; 
nor  would  anger  have  armed  against  her  own  off¬ 
spring  the  mother  who  took  vengeance  on  her  hus¬ 
band  with  the  loss  of  kindred  blood.^  By  my  art 
Tereus,  though  Philomel  found  favour,  had  not 
deserved  by  crime  to  become  a  bird.  Give  me 
Pasiphae ;  soon  will  she  love  the  bull  no  more ; 
give  me  Phaedra ;  Phaedra’s  shameful  love  will 
disappear.  Give  Paris  to  me  :  Menelaus  will  keep 
Helen,  nor  will  vanquished  Pergamum  fall  by 
Danaan  hands.  Had  impious  Scylla  read  my  verse, 
the  purple  had  stayed  on  thy  head,  O  Nisus.^ 
Under  my  guidance,  ye  men,  control  your  ruinous 
passions,  and  under  my  guidance  let  ship  and  crew 
run  straight.  You  should  have  read  Naso  then 
when  you  learnt  to  love  :  you  should  read  the 
same  Naso  now.  A  public  champion,  I  shall  relieve 
hearts  that  groan  beneath  their  lords ;  welcome 
each  of  you  the  rod^  that  liberates.  Thee  I  beseech 
at  the  outset,  let  thy  laurel  be  nigh  to  aid  me, 
O  Phoebus,  inventor  of  song  and  of  the  healing 
art !  Succour  alike  the  poet  and  alike  the  healer ; 
the  labours  of  both  are  under  thy  patronage. 

While  it  may  be,  and  but  moderate  feeling  moves 
your  heart,  if  you  dislike  it,  stay  your  foot  on  the 
first  threshold.  Crush,  while  yet  they  are  new,  the 
baneful  seeds  of  sudden  disease,  and  let  your  steed 
at  the  outset  check  his  pace.  For  delay  gives 

3  “assero”  was  the  word  used  of  those  who  “claimed” 
either  a  slave  for  freedom  or  the  reverse,  “vindicta” 
(from  “vim  dicere,”  declaration  of  authority)  was  the  rod, 
also  called  “festuca,”  with  which  the  claimed  man  was 
touched. 


183 


OVID 


Nam  mora  dat  vires,  teneras  mora  percoquit  uvas, 

Et  validas  segetes  quae  fuit  herba,  facit. 

Quae  praebet  latas  arbor  spatiantibus  umbras,  85 

Quo  posita  est  primum  tempore  virga  fuit ; 

Tum  poterat  manibus  summa  tellure  revelli  • 

Nunc  stat  in  inmensum  viribus  aucta  suis. 

Quale  sit  id,  quod  amas,  celeri  circumspice  mente. 

Et  tua  laesuro  subtrahe  colla  iugo,  90 

Principiis  obsta  ;  sero  medicina  paratur. 

Cum  mala  per  longas  convaluere  moras. 

Sed  propera,  nec  te  venturas  differ  in  horas ; 

Qui  non  est  hodie,  cras  minus  aptus  erit : 

Verba  dat  omnis  amor,  reperitque  alimenta  morando  ; 

Optima  vindictae  proxima  quaeque  dies.  96 

Flumina  pauca  vides  de  magnis  fontibus  orta  : 

Plurima  collectis  multiplicantur  aquis. 

Si  cito  sensisses,  quantum  peccare  parares. 

Non  tegeres  vultus  cortice,  Myrrha,  tuos.  100 

Vidi  ego  quod  fuerat  primo  sanabile  vulnus. 

Dilatum  longae  damna  tulisse  morae. 

Sed  quia  delectat  Veneris  decerpere  fructum. 

Dicimus  adsidue  “  cras  quoque  fiet  idem.” 

Interea  tacitae  serpunt  in  viscera  flammae,  105 

Et  mala  radices  altius  arbor  agit. 

Si  tamen  auxilii  perierunt  tempora  primi. 

Et  vetus  in  capto  pectore  sedit  amor. 

Maius  opus  superest :  sed  non,  quia  serior  aegro 

Advocor,  ille  mihi  destituendus  erit.  110 

Quam  laesus  fuerat  partem,  Poeantius  heros 
Certa  debuerat  praesecuisse  manu  ; 

^  She  was  turned  into  the  tree  that  bears  her  name  for  the 
crime  of  incest,  see  Metam.  10.  29S. 

2  Philoctetes,  .son  of  Poeas,  who  had  a  diseased  foot,  and 
was  left  by  the  Greeks  on  Lemnos.  He  was  destined  to  end 

184 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


strength,  delay  matures  the  tender  grapes,  and 
makes  what  is  grass  into  lusty  crops.  The  tree 
that  gives  broad  shade  to  strollers,  when  first  it 
was  planted,  was  a  tender  shoot,  then  it  could 
be  pulled  by  the  hand  from  the  surface  earth : 
now  it  stands  firm,  grown  by  its  own  strength  to 
unmeasured  height.  Consider  in  swift  thought 
what  kind  of  thing  it  is  you  love,  and  withdraw 
your  neck  from  a  yoke  that  may  one  day  gall. 
Resist  beginnings;  too  late  is  the  medicine  pre¬ 
pared,  when  the  disease  has  gained  strength  by 
long  delay.  Ay,  and  make  haste,  nor  wait  on  the 
coming  hours ;  he  who  is  not  ready  to-day  will  be 
less  so  to-morrow  :  all  love  deceives  and  finds 
sustenance  in  delaying ;  next  day  is  ever  the  best 
for  your  deliverance.  Few  rivers  do  you  see  that 
are  born  of  mighty  springs  :  most  are  increased  by 
gathered  waters.  Hadst  thou  been  quick  to  know 
how  great  a  crime  thou  Wert  devising,  thou  hadst 
not,  Myrrha,  hid  thy  face  in  bark.i  i  have  seen  a 
Avound,  that  at  first  was  healable,  by  tarrying  suffer 
the  penalty  of  long  delay.  But  because  Ave  delight  to 
pluck  the  blooms  of  Venus,  ever  we  repeat,  “To¬ 
morrow  it  will  be  the  same.”  Meanwhile  secret 
flames  creep  into  our  inmost  being,  and  the  evil 
tree  drives  its  roots  deeper  down.  Yet  if  the  time 
for  early  succour  is  lost,  and  an  old  love  is  seated 
in  the  captured  heart,  a  heavier  task  remains :  but, 
because  I  am  called  late  to  the  patient  s  side,  I 
must  not  leave  him  to  his  fate.  The  Poeantian 
hero  should  have  cut  away  with  unfaltering  hand 
that  part  where  he  had  been  hurt;^  yet  was  he 

the  Trojan  war  through  being  the  possessor  of  the  bow  and 
arrows  of  Hercules. 

185 


OVID 


Post  tamen  hic  multos  sanatus  creditur  annos 
Supremam  bellis  imposuisse  manum. 

Qui  modo  nascentes  properabam  pellere  morbos,  116 
Admoveo  tardam  nunc  tibi  lentus  opem. 

Aut  nova,  si  possis,  sedare  incendia  temptes. 

Aut  ubi  per  vires  procubuere  suas  : 

Cum  furor  in  cursu  est,  currenti  cede  furori ; 

Difficiles  aditus  impetus  omnis  habet.  120 

Stultus,  ab  obliquo  qui  cum  descendere  possit. 

Pugnat  in  adversas  ire  natator  aquas. 

Impatiens  animus,  nec  adhuc  tractabilis  arte. 

Respuit  atque  odio  verba  monentis  habet. 

Adgrediar  melius  tum,  cum  sua  vulnera  tangi  125 

lam  sinet,  et  veris  vocibus  aptus  erit. 

Quis  matrem,  nisi  mentis  inops,  in  funere  nati 
Flere  vetet  ?  non  hoc  illa  monenda  loco  est. 

Cum  dederit  lacrimas,  animumque  impleverit  aegrum. 
Ille  dolor  verbis  emoderandus  erit.  130 

Temporis  ars  medicina  fere  est :  data  tempore  prosunt. 
Et  data  non  apto  tempore  vina  nocent. 

Quin  etiam  accendas  vitia  inritesque  vetando, 
Temporibus  si  non  adgrediare  suis. 

Ergo  ubi  visus  eris  nostrae  medicabilis  arti,  135 

Fac  monitis  fugias  otia  prima  meis. 

Haec,  ut  ames,  faciunt,  haec  quod  fecere,  tuentur ; 

Haec  sunt  iucundi  causa  cibusque  mali. 

Otia  si  tollas,  jieriere  Cupidinis  arcus, 

Contemtaeque  iacent  et  sine  luce  faces.  140 

Quam  platanus  vino  gaudet,  quam  populus  unda, 

Et  quam  limosa  canna  palustris  humo. 


You  will  be  swept  away  if  you  try  to  make  head  against 
passion,  so  go  down  the  stream  gently  in  a  zig-zag  course. 

1 86 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


healed,  we  believe,  after  many  years,  and  dealt 
the  blow  that  ended  all  the  war.  I  who  of  late 
was  hastening  to  nip  an  ailment  in  the  bud  now 
cautiously  apply  to  you  my  tardy  aid.  Either  when 
’tis  new  try,  if  you  can,  to  assuage  a  fire,  or  when  by 
its  own  force  it  has  collapsed :  when  its  fury  is 
at  full  speed,  give  way  to  its  furious  speeding ;  hard 
to  face  is  ever  the  first  onset.  Foolish  is  the 
swimmer  who  though  he  can  pass  down  it  in  a 
slanting  course  struggles  to  go  against  the  stream.^ 
The  impatient  spirit,  as  yet  intractable  to  skill 
rejects  and  holds  in  abhorrence  words  of  counsel. 
More  wisely  shall  I  then  approach  when  he  suffers  at 
last  his  wounds  to  be  touched,  and  is  fit  for  true 
admonishment.  Who  save  a  fool  would  forbid  a 
mother  to  weep  o’er  the  body  of  her  son  ?  not  then 
must  she  be  counselled.  When  she  has  shed  tears 
and  fulfilled  her  mind’s  distress,  then  may  words  set 
a  limit  to  that  grief.  The  art  of  being  timely  is 
almost  a  medicine  :  wine  timely  given  helps,  un¬ 
timely,  harms.  Nay,  you  would  inflame  the  malady, 
and  by  forbidding  irritate  it,  should  you  attack  it 
at  an  unfitting  time. 

When  therefore  I  shall  find  you  amenable  to 
my  skill,  obey  my  counsels  and  first  of  all  shun 
leisure.  That  makes  you  love;  that  guards  what 
it  has  done ;  that  is  the  cause  and  sustenance  of 
the  pleasant  evil.  Take  away  leisure  and  Cupid’s 
bow  is  broken,  and  his  torch  lies  extinguished  and 
despised.  As  the  plane  rejoices  in  wine,^  or  the 
poplar  in  water,  or  the  reed  of  the  mere  in  marshy 

2  Because  men  plant  it  to  give  them  shade  to  drink 
under,  and  sometimes  pour  Avater  on  its  roots  in  libation. 

187 


OVID 


Tam  Venus  otia  amat;  qui  finem  quaeris  amoris. 

Cedit  amor  rebus  :  res  age,  tutus  eris. 

Languor,  et  inmodici  sub  nullo  vindice  somni,  145 

Aleaque,  et  multo  tempora  quassa  mero 
Eripiunt  omnes  animo  sine  vulnere  nervos : 

Adfluit  incautis  insidiosus  Amor. 

Desidiam  puer  ille  sequi  solet,  odit  agentes  : 

Da  vacuae  menti,  quo  teneatur,  opus.  150 

Sunt  fora,  sunt  leges,  sunt,  quos  tuearis,  amici  : 

Vade  per  urbanae  splendida  castra  togae. 

Vel  tu  sanguinei  iu venalia  munera  Martis 
Suspice  :  deliciae  iam  tibi  terga  dabunt. 

Ecce,  fugax  Parthus,  magni  nova  causa  triumphi,  165 
Iam  videt  in  campis  Caesaris  arma  suis  : 

Vince  Cupidineas  pariter  Parthasque  sagittas. 

Et  refer  ad  patrios  bina  tropaea  deos. 

Ut  semel  Aetola  Venus  est  a  cuspide  laesa. 

Mandat  amatori  bella  gerenda  suo.  160 

Quaeritis,  Aegisthus  quare  sit  factus  adulter? 

In  promptu  causa  est ;  desidiosus  erat. 

Pugnabant  alii  tardis  apud  Ilion  armis  : 

Transtulerat  vires  Graecia  tota  suas. 

Sive  operam  bellis  vellet  dare,  nulla  gerebat :  165 

Sive  foro,  vacuum  litibus  Argos  erat. 

Quod  potuit,  ne  nil  illic  ageretur,  amavit. 

Sic  venit  ille  puer,  sic  puer  ille  manet. 

Rura  quoque  oblectant  animos  studiumque  colendi : 
Quaelibet  huic  curae  cedere  cura  potest.  170 

1  Fighting  and  glory  are  to  be  found  in  the  arts  of  peace, 
cf.  1.  166. 

®  It  was  a  popular  delusion  of  the  time  that  Augustus 
contemplated  a  great  Parthian  war ;  in  20  B  C.  diplomacy 
had  resulted  in  the  return  of  the  Roman  standai'da  lost  at 
Carrhae,  but  in  4  b.c.  another  expedition,  under  the  young 
i88 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


ground,  so  does  Venus  delight  in  leisure;  you  who 
seek  an  end  of  love,  love  yields  to  business;  be 
busy,  and  you  will  be  safe.  Listlessness,  and  too 
much  sleep  with  none  to  check  you,  and  dicing,  and 
fuddling  the  temples  with  much  wdne,  without  a 
wound  rob  the  spirit  of  all  its  strength  :  insidious 
Love  glides  into  defenceless  hearts.  Where  sloth 
is,  that  Boy  is  wont  to  follow  ;  he  hates  the  busy  : 
give  the  empty  mind  some  business  to  occupy  it. 
There  are  the  courts,  there  are  the  laws,  there  are 
friends  for  you  to  protect :  frequent  the  camps  that 
gleam  with  the  city  gown.^  Or  undertake  the  manly 
task  of  blood-stained  Mars  ;  you  will  soon  be  routing 
your  pleasures.  Lo !  the  fugitive  Parthian,  fresh 
cause  of  glorious  triumph,  already  beholds  the 
arms  of  Caesar  on  his  plains  :  ^  defeat  alike  Cupid’s 
and  the  Parthian’s  arrows,  and  bring  home  to  your 
country’s  gods  a  double  troj)hy.  No  sooner  was 
Venus  hurt  by  the  Aetolian  spear  than  she  bids 
her  lover  wage  her  wars.®  Do  you  ask  why 
Aegisthus  became  an  adulterer?  the  reason  is  near 
at  hand  :  he  was  a  sluggard.  Others  were  fighting 
in  the  lagging  war  by  Ilium :  Greece  had  sent 
thither  all  her  might.  Did  he  wish  to  engage  in 
warfare,  Argos  was  waging  none  :  or  to  the  courts  ? 
Argos  was  free  from  legal  strife.  All  he  could  do, 
he  did ;  that  he  might  not  there  do  naught,  he  fell 
in  love.  So  comes  that  Boy,  so  does  that  Boy 
remain. 

The  country  also  delights  the  mind,  and  the 
pursuit  of  husbandry  ;  no  care  is  there  but  must 

Gaius,  had  been  found  necessary  to  re-establish  Roman 
ascendancy;  v.  Ars.  Am.  i.  177. 

®  cf.  note  on  1.  5. 


OVID 


Colla  iube  domitos  oneri  subponere  tauros, 
Sauciet  ut  duram  vomer  aduncus  humum  : 

Obrue  versata  Cerialia  semina  terra, 

Quae  tibi  cum  multo  faenore  reddat  ager. 

Aspice  curvatos  pomorum  pondere  ramos. 

Ut  sua,  quod  peperit,  vix  ferat  arbor  onus  ; 

Aspice  labentes  iucundo  murmure  rivos ; 

Aspice  tondentes  fertile  gramen  oves. 

Ecce,  petunt  rupes  praeruptaque  saxa  capellae  : 
lam  referent  haedis  ubera  plena  suis  ; 

Pastor  inaequali  modulatur  arundine  carmen. 

Nec  desunt  comites,  sedula  turba,  canes  ; 

Parte  sonant  alia  silvae  mugitibus  altae, 
pjt  queritur  vitulum  mater  abesse  suum. 

Quid,  cum  compositos  fugiunt  examina  fumos. 

Ut  relevent  dempti  vimina  curva  favi  ? 

Poma  dat  autumnus  :  formosa  est  messibus  aestas 
Ver  praebet  flores  :  igne  levatur  hiemps. 

Temporibus  certis  maturam  rusticus  uvam 
Deligit,  et  nudo  sub  pede  musta  fluunt ; 

Temporibus  certis  desectas  alligat  herbas. 

Et  tonsam  raro  pectine  verrit  humum. 

Ipse  potes  riguis  plantam  deponere  in  hortis. 

Ipse  potes  rivos  ducere  lenis  aquae. 

Venerit  insitio;  fac  ramum  ramus  adoptet, 
Stetque  peregrinis  arbor  operta  comis. 

Cum  semel  haec  animum  coepit  mulcere  voluptas 
Debilibus  pinnis  inritus  exit  Amor. 

Vel  tu  venandi  studium  cole  :  saepe  recessit 
Turpiter  a  Phoebi  victa  sorore  Venus. 

Nunc  leporem  pronum  catulo  sectare  sagaci. 

Nunc  tua  frondosis  retia  tende  iugis, 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOYE 

yield  to  this.  Bid  the  tamed  bulls  bow  their  necks 
to  the  burden,  that  the  curved  share  may  wound 
the  stubborn  ground  ;  bury  the  seeds  of  Ceres  in 
the  upturned  soil,  that  the  earth  may  restore  them 
to  you  with  lavish  usury.  Watch  your  boughs  bent 
with  the  weight  of  apples,  so  that  the  tree  scarce 
sustains  the  burden  of  its  produce  ;  watch  the 
streams  gliding  with  cheerful  sound;  watch  the 
sheep  cropping  the  fertile  grass.  Lo !  the  goats 
make  for  the  rocks  and  precipitous  cliffs  :  soon  they 
will  bring  back  full  udders  to  their  kids ;  the 
shepherd  plays  a  ditty  on  his  unequal  pipes,  nor 
lacks  the  company  of  his  faithful  dogs ;  elsewhere 
the  deep  glades  resound  with  lowings,  and  a  mother 
complains  that  her  calf  is  lost.  What  of  the  swarms 
that  flee  from  the  yew-torches  set  beneath  them, 
that  the  taking  of  the  combs  may  unburden  the 
rounded  osiers  ?  Autumn  brings  fruit :  summer  is 
fair  with  harvest :  spring  gives  flowers :  winter  is 
relieved  by  fire.  At  fixed  seasons  the  countryman 
picks  the  ripened  grapes,  and  the  vintage  flows 
beneath  his  naked  foot ;  at  fixed  seasons  he  cuts 
and  binds  the  grasses,  and  harrows  the  shaven  earth 
with  wide-toothed  comb.  You  yourself  can  plant  a 
shoot  in  a  well-watered  garden,  you  yourself  can 
guide  the  runnels  of  gentle  water.  The  time  of 
grafting  has  come  :  see  that  bough  adopts  bough, 
and  that  the  tree  stands  covered  with  leaves  that 
are  not  its  own.  When  once  this  pleasure  begins 
to  charm  the  mind,  on  maimed  wings  Love  flutters 
hopelessly  away.  Or  cultivate  the  pleasures  of  the 
chase :  ofttimes  has  Venus,  vanquished  by  Phoebus’ 
sister,  beaten  a  base  retreat.  Now  pursue  with 
cunning  hound  the  forward-straining  hare,  now 

191 


OVID  . 


Aut  pavidos  terre  varia  formidine  cervos,  . , 

Aut  cadat  adversa  cuspide  fossus  aper. 

Nocte  fatigatum  somnus,  non  cura  puellae,  205 

Plxcipit  et  pingui  membra  quiete  levat. 

Lenius  est  studium,  studium  tamen,  alite  capta 
Aut  lino  aut  calamis  praemia  parva  sequi. 

Vel,  quae  piscis  edax  avido  male  devoret  ore. 

Abdere  suspensis  aera  recurva  cibis.  210 

Aut  his  aut  aliis,  donec  dediscis  amare. 

Ipse  tibi  furtim  decipiendus  eris. 

Tu  tantum  quamvis  firmis  retinebere  vinclis, 

1  procul,  et  longas  carpere  perge  vias  ; 

Flebis,  et  occurret  desertae  nomen  amicae,  216 

Stabit  et  in  media  pes  tibi  saepe  via : 

Sed  quanto  minus  ire  voles,  magis  ire  memento  ; 

Perfer,  et  invitos  currere  coge  pedes. 

Nec  pluvias  opta,  nec  te  peregrina  morentur 

Sabbata,  nec  damnis  Allia  nota  suis.  220 

Nec  quot  transieris,  sed  quot  tibi,  quaere,  supersint 
Milia ;  nec,  maneas  ut  prope,  finge  moras  ; 

Tempora  nec  numera,  nec  crebro  respice  Romam, 

Sed  fuge  :  tutus  adhuc  Parthus  ab  hoste  fuga  est. 

Dura  aliquis  praecepta  vocet  mea  ;  dura  fatemur  225 
Esse ;  sed  ut  valeas,  multa  dolenda  feres. 

Saepe  bibi  sucos,  quamvis  invitus,  amaros 
Aeger,  et  oranti  mensa  negata  mihi. 

Ut  corpus  redimas,  ferrum  patieris  et  ignes. 

Arida  nec  sitiens  ora  levabis  aqua ;  230 

210  suspensis  Palmer  •.  supremis  R, 

220  Allia  Merkel ;  alea  R. 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


stretch  your  nets  on  leafy  ridges  ;  either  with  varied 
j)anic  alarm  the  timid  deer,  or  meet  the  boar  and 
fell  him  with  your  spear-thrust.  Tired  out,  at  night¬ 
fall  sleep,  not  thoughts  of  a  girl,  will  await  you,  and 
refresh  your  limbs  with  healthy  repose.  ’Tis  a 
milder  pleasure  (yet  a  pleasure  it  is)  to  seek  a 
humble  prize  by  snaring  birds  with  net  or  reed, 
or  to  hide  in  the  suspended  bait  the  brazen  hook, 
which  the  greedy  fish  may  swallow  to  his  hurt  with 
ravening  mouth.  By  these  or  other  pursuits,  until 
you  unlearn  your  love,  you  must  craftily  deceive 
yourself.  Only  go  away,  though  strong  be  the 
bonds  that  hold  you,  go  far,  and  make  a  lengthy 
voyage ;  you  will  weep,  and  the  name  of  your 
deserted  mistress  will  haunt  your  mind ;  and  oft 
will  your  foot  halt  in  mid-journey :  yet  the  less 
you  wish  to  go,  the  more  be  sure  of  going ;  persist, 
and  compel  your  unwilling  feet  to  run.  Hope  not 
for  rain,  nor  let  foreign  sabbaths  stay  you,  nor  Allia 
well-known  for  its  ill-luck.^  Ask  not  how  many  miles 
you  have  covered,  nor  how  many  more  remain  ;  nor 
feign  delays  that  you  may  tarry  near  at  hand.  Count 
not  the  days,  nor  be  ever  looking  back  at  Rome  ;  but 
flee  ;  by  flight  the  Parthian  is  still  safe  from  his  foe. 

Some  may  call  my  counsels  cruel  :  cruel  I  confess 
they  are ;  but,  to  recover  health,  you  are  willing  to 
bear  much  pain.  Often  when  ill  have  I  drunk, 
though  unwilling,  bitter  juices,  and  the  feast  was 
denied  to  my  pi-ayers.  To  redeem  your  body  you 
will  suffer  steel  and  fire,  nor,  though  thirsty,  refresh 
your  parched  mouth  with  water  ;  to  be  whole  in 

^  The  disastrous  defeat  of  the  Romans  by  the  Gauls  on 
the  river  Allia  (July  18,  390  b.C.)  was  a  black  date  in  their 
Kalendar,  and  so  ill-omened  for  starting  a  journey. 


o 


193 


OVID 


Ut  valeas  animo,  quicquam  tolerare  negabis  ? 

At  pretium  pars  haec  corpore  maius  habet. 

Sed  tamen  est  artis  tristissima  ianua  nostrae. 

Et  labor  est  unus  tempora  prima  pati. 

Aspicis,  ut  prensos  urant  iuga  prima  iuvencos,  235 

Et  nova  velocem  cingula  laedat  equum  ? 

Forsitan  a  laribus  patriis  exire  pigebit  : 

Sed  tamen  exibis  :  deinde  redire  voles  ; 

Nec  te  Lar  patrius,  sed  amor  revocabit  amicae. 

Praetendens  culpae  splendida  verba  tuae.  240 

Cum  semel  exieris,  centum  solatia  curae 
Et  rus  et  comites  et  via  longa  dabit. 

Nec  satis  esse  putes  discedere  ;  lentus  abesto. 

Dum  perdat  vires  sitque  sine  igne  cinis. 

Quod  nisi  firmata  properaris  mente  reverti,  245 

Inferet  arma  tibi  saeva  rebellis  Amor. 

Quidquid  et  afueris,  avidus  sitiensque  redibis. 

Et  spatium  damno  cesserit  omne  tuo. 

Viderit,  Haemoniae  siquis  mala  pabula  terrae 

Et  magicas~artes  posse  iuvare  putat.  250 

Ista  veneficii  vetus  est  via ;  noster  Apollo 
Innocuam  sacro  carmine  monstrat  opem. 

Me  duce  non  tumulo  prodire  iubebitur  umbra, 

"rNra  anus  infami  carmine  rumpet  humum  ; 

Non  seges  ex  aliis  alios  transibit  in  agros,  255 

Nec  subito  Phoebi  pallidus  orbis  erit. 

Ut  solet,  aequoreas  ibit  Tiberinus  in  undas  : 

Ut  solet,  in  niveis  Luna  vehetur  equis. 

Nulla  recantatas  deponent  pectora  curas. 

Nec  fugiet  vivo  sulpure  victus  amor.  260 

Quid  te  Phasidiae  iuverunt  gramina  terrae. 

Cum  cuperes  patria,  Colchi,  manere  domo  ? 


194 


^  i.  e. ,  Thessaly,  always  famed  for  witchcraft. 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


mindj  is  there  aught  you  will  refuse  to  bear  ?  Ah, 
but  this  part  of  you  is  costlier  than  the  body.  Yet 
the  gateway  of  my  art  is  the  severest  trial,  and  your 
only  labour  will  be  to  endure  the  first  beginning. 
Do  you  see  how  the  first  yoke  chafes  the  captured 
bullocks,  how  the  new  saddle  hurts  the  flying  steed? 
Pei’chance  ’twill  irk  you  to  leave  your  home  and 
country ;  yet  leave  it  you  will :  and  then  you  will 
wish  to  return ;  but  it  will  not  be  your  home  and 
country,  but  the  love  of  your  mistress  that  calls  you 
back,  cloaking  your  weakness  in  grand  words.  Once 
you  have  gone  forth,  a  hundred  cares  will  bring  you 
solace,  the  country  scenes,  your  comrades,  the  long 
road.  Nor  think  it  enough  to  depart ;  be  absent 
long,  till  the  fuel  lose  its  force  and  the  flame  be 
spent.  If  you  haste  to  return  save  with  well-steeled 
mind,  Love  will  renew  the  fight,  and  wage  fierce 
war  against  you.  For  all  your  absence  you  will 
come  back  greedy  and  athirst,  and  all  that  time 
will  but  have  done  you  harm. 

If  anyone  thinks  that  the  baneful  herbs  of 
Haemonia^  and  arts  of  magic  can  avail,  let  him 
take  his  own  risk.  That  is  the  old  way  of  witchcraft ; 
my  patron  Apollo  gives  harmless  aid  in  sacred  song. 
Under  my  guidance  no  spirit  will  be  bidden  issue 
from  the  tomb,  no  witch  will  cleave  the  ground  with 
hideous  spell ;  no  crops  will  pass  from  field  to  field, 
nor  Phoebus’  orb  grow  suddenly  pale.  As  of  wont 
will  Tiber  flow  to  the  sea’s  waters ;  as  of  wont  will 
the  Moon  ride  in  her  snow-white  car.  No  hearts 
will  lay  aside  their  passion  by  enchantment,  nor 
love  flee  vanquished  by  strong  sulphur.  What 
availed  thee  the  grasses  of  thy  Phasian  land,  O 
Colchian  maid,  when  thou  wert  fain  to  stay  in  thy 

195 


OVID 


Quid  tibi  profuerunt,  Circe,  Perseides  herbae. 

Cum  sua  Neritias  abstulit  aura  rates? 

Omnia  fecisti,  ne  callidus  hospes  abiret :  265 

Ille  dedit  certae  lintea  plena  fugae. 

Omnia  fecisti,  ne  te  ferus  ureret  ignis  : 

Longus  et  invito  pectore  sedit  amor. 

Vertere  tu  poteras  homines  in  mille  figuras. 

Non  poteras  animi  vertere  iura  tui.  270 

Diceris  his  etiam,  cum  iam  discedere  vellet, 

Dulichium  verbis  detinuisse  ducem  : 

“Non  ego,  quod  primo,  memini,  sperare  solebam, 

Iam  precor,  ut  coniunx  tu  meus  esse  velis ; 

Et  tamen,  ut  coniunx  essem  tua,  digna  videbar,  275 
Quod  dea,  quod  magni  filia  Solis  eram. 

Ne  properes,  oro  ;  spatium  pro  munere  posco  : 

Quid  minus  optari  per  mea  vota  potest  ? 

Et  freta  mota  vides,  et  debes  illa  timere ; 

Utilior  velis  postmodo  ventus  erit.  280 

Quae  tibi  causa  fugae  ?  non  hic  nova  Troia  resurgit. 
Non  aliquis  socios  rursus  ad  arma  vocat. 

Hic  amor  et  pax  est,  in  qua  male  vulneror  una. 

Totaque  sub  regno  terra  futura  tuo  est.” 

Illa  loquebatur,  navem  solvebat  Ulixes  :  285 

Inrita  cum  velis  verba  tulere  noti. 

Ardet,  et  adsuetas  Circe  decurrit  ad  artes. 

Nec  tamen  est  illis  adtenuatus  amor. 

Ergo  quisquis  opem  nostra  tibi  poscis  ab  arte. 

Deme  veneficiis  carminibusque  fidem.  290 


196 


282  rursus  K :  Rhesus  cdd. 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


native  home  ?  What  did  Persean  herbs  profit  thee^ 
O  Circe,  when  a  breeze  that  favoured  them  bore 
the  Neritian  barks  away?  ^  Thou  didst  all,  that  the 
cunning  stranger  should  not  leave  thee :  yet  he 
spread  full  canvas  in  unhindered  flight.  Thou  didst 
all,  that  the  fierce  fire  should  not  burn  thee  ;  yet 
long  abode  the  passion  in  thy  unwilling  breast. 
Thou  wert  able  to  change  men  into  a  thousand 
shapes,  yet  wert  unable  to  change  the  laws  of  thine 
own  soul.  In  these  words  even,  when  already  he 
was  eager  to  depart,  art  thou  said  to  have  detained 
the  Dulichian  chief:  “1  pray  not  now,  what  first, 
I  remember,  I  was  wont  to  hope,  that  thou  wouldst 
wish  to  be  my  husband ;  and  yet  methought  I  was 
worthy  to  be  thy  wife,  in  that  I  was  a  goddess, 
daughter  of  the  mighty  Sun.  I  beseech  thee  not  to 
haste  ;  I  crave  the  boon  of  time  :  what  less  could  my 
vows  pray  for?  Thou  seest  the  waters  roused,  and 
shouldst  fear  them  :  presently  the  wind  will  be  more 
useful  to  thy  sails.  What  cause  hast  thou  for  flight  ? 
no  new  Troy  rises  here  again,  none  calls  his  mates 
to  arms  once  more.  Love  is  here,  and  peace,  wherein 
I  alone  am  wounded  sore,  and  the  land  will  be 
all  beneath  thy  sway.”  She  was  yet  speaking  : 
Ulysses  loosed  his  ship ;  with  the  sails  the  winds 
bore  away  her  unavailing  words.  Circe  aflame  has 
recourse  to  her  wonted  arts,  yet  not  by  them  is  her 
passion  calmed. 

Therefore,  whoever  you  are  that  seek  aid  in  my 
skill,  have  no  faith  in  spells  and  witchcraft.  If 

^  Colehian  maid :  Medea.  Neritian :  Ithacan,  from  Mt. 
Neritus  in  that  island.  Persean  :  from  Perse,  mother  of 
Circe. 


197 


OVID 


Site  causa  potens  domina  retinebit  in  Urbe, 

Accipe,  consilium  quod  sit  in  Urbe  meum. 

Optimus  ille  sui  vindex,  laedentia  pectus 
Vincula  qui  rupit,  dedoluitque  semel. 

Sicui  tantum  animi  est,  illum  mirabor  et  ipse,  295 

Et  dicam  ^'monitis  non  eget  iste  meis.” 

Tu  mihi,  qui  quod  amas,  aegre  dediscis  amare. 

Nec  potes,  et  velles  posse,  docendus  eris. 

Saepe  refer  tecum  sceleratae  facta  puellae. 

Et  pone  ante  oculos  omnia  damna  tuos.  300 

“  Illud  et  illud  habet,  nec  ea  contenta  rapina  est  : 

Sub  titulum  nostros  misit  avara  lares. 

Sic  mihi  iuravit,  sic  me  iurata  fefellit. 

Ante  suas  quotiens  passa  iacere  fores  ! 

Diligit  ipsa  alios,  a  me  fastidit  amari ;  305 

Institor,  heu,  noctes,  quas  mihi  non  dat,  habet  !  ” 
Haec  tibi  per  totos  inacescant  omnia  sensus : 

Haec  refer,  hinc  odii  semina  quaere  tui. 

Atque  utinam  possis  etiam  facundus  in  illis 

Esse  !  dole  tantum,  sponte  disertus  eris.  310 

Haeserat  in  quadam  nuper  mea  cura  puella  ; 

Conveniens  animo  non  erat  illa  meo  : 

Curabar  propriis  aeger  Podalirius  herbis. 

Et,  fateor,  medicus  turpiter  aeger  eram. 

Profuit  adsidue  vitiis  insistere  amicae,  315 

Idque  mihi  factum  saepe  salubre  fuit. 

“  Quam  mala  ”  dicebam  “  nostrae  sunt  crura  puellae  !  ” 
Nec  tamen,  ut  vere  confiteamur,  erant. 

293  sui  Heinsius:  fuit  B. 

^  ‘  ‘  titulus  ”  is  literally  the  notice  or  placard  of  sale. 

198 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


some  powerful  cause  keeps  you  in  imperial  Rome, 
hear  what  my  counsel  is  in  Rome.  He  best  wins 
freedom  for  himself  who  has  burst  the  bonds  that 
hurt  his  soul,  and  once  for  all  o’ercome  the  smart. 
If  any  has  such  fortitude,  1,  even  I,  will  marvel  at  him, 
and  say,  “  That  man  needs  not  my  precepts.  But 
you  who  love  and  with  pain  unlearn  your  loving, 
who  cannot  and  yet  wish  you  could,  you  must  be 
taught  by  me.  Bring  often  to  your  mind  what 
your  cursed  mistress  has  done,  and  set  all  your 
loss  before  your  eyes.  “  This  has  she,  and  that, 
nor  is  content  with  so  much  plunder :  the  gi'eedy 
wretch  has  brought  all  my  house  beneath  the 
hammer Thus  did  she  swear  to  me,  and  swearing 
played  me  false  ;  how  often  did  she  suffer  me  to 
lie  before  her  door !  She  cares  for  others  herself, 
but  scorns  my  love ;  a  pedlar  ^  (curse  him  !)  enjoys 
the  niglits  she  refuses  to  me !  ’  Let  all  this  steep 
your  feelings  in  gall ;  remember  that,  seek  there 
the  seeds  of  hatred.  And  would  that  you  could  be 
eloquent  too  therein !  well,  only  suffer,  and  elo¬ 
quence  will  come.  Lately  my  passion  clung  to  a 
certain  girl ;  that  passion  did  not  suit  my  mind  :  a 
sick  Podalirius,^  I  treated  myself  with  my  own 
herbs,  and,  I  confess,  I  was  a  shamefully  sick 
physician.  It  helped  me  to  harp  continually  on 
my  mistress’  faults,  and  that,  when  I  did  it,  often 
brought  me  relief.  “  How  ugly,  would  I  say,  '^aie 
my  girl’s  legs !  ”  and  yet  they  were  not,  to  say  the 


2  These  travelling  dealers  in  luxuries  were  a  special 
danger  ;  cf.  Hor.  Od.  3.  6.  30,  “institor  dedecorum  pretiosus 

emptor,”  and  ^rs.  ^m.  1.  421.  o  ■toq  ii 

3  The  physician  of  the  Greeks  in  Homer  (II.  2.  72a,  li. 

832). 


OVID 


“  Brachia  quam  non  sunt  nostrae  formosa  puellae  !  ” 

Et  tamen,  ut  vere  confiteamur,  erant.  320 

“Quam  brevis  est!”  nec  erat;  “quam  multum  poscit 
amantem  !  ” 

Haec  odio  venit  maxima  causa  meo. 

Et  mala  sunt  vicina  bonis  ;  errore  sub  illo 
Pro  vitio  virtus  crimina  saepe  tulit. 

Qua  potes,  in  peius  dotes  deflecte  puellae,  .325 

ludiciiimque  brevi  limite  falle  tuum. 

Turgida,  si  plena  est,  si  fusca  est,  nigra  vocetur  : 

In  gracili  macies  crimen  habere  potest. 

Et  poterit  dici  petulans,  quae  rustica  non  est : 

Et  poterit  dici  rustica,  siqua  proba  est.  330 

Quin  etiam,  quacumque  caret  tua  femina  dote. 

Hanc  moveat,  blandis  usque  precare  sonis. 

Exige  quod  cantet,  siqua  est  sine  voce  puella  : 

Fac  saltet,  nescit  siqua  movere  manum. 

Barbara  sermone  est  ?  fac  tecum  multa  loquatur  ;  335 

Non  didicit  chordas  tangere?  posce  lyram. 

Durius  incedit  ?  fac  inambulet ;  omne  papillae 
Pectus  habent  tumidae  ?  fascia  nulla  tegat. 

Si  male  dentata  est,  narra,  quod  rideat,  illi ; 

Mollibus  est  oculis?  quod  fleat  illa,  refer.  340 

Proderit  et  subito,  cum  se  non  finxerit  ulli. 

Ad  dominam  celeres  mane  tulisse  gradus. 

Auferimur  cultu  ;  gemmis  auroque  teguntur 
Omnia ;  pars  minima  est  ipsa  puella  sui. 

Saepe  ubi  sit,  quod  ames,  inter  tam  multa  requiras ;  345 
Decipit  hac  oculos  aegide  dives  Amor. 

Improvisus  ades,  deprendes  tutus  inermem  : 

Infelix  vitiis  excidet  illa  suis. 

Non  tamen  huic  nimium  praecepto  credere  tutum 
est : 

Fallit  enim  multos  forma  sine  arte  decens.  360 


200 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

truth.  “  How  far  from  comely  are  my  girl’s  arms !  ” 
yet  comely  they  were,  to  say  the  truth.  “  How 
short  she  is !  ”  though  she  was  not ;  “  how  much 
she  asks  of  her  lover!”  that  proved  my  chiefest 
cause  of  hate.  Faults  too  lie  near  to  charms  ;  by 
that  error  virtues  oft  were  blamed  for  vices.  Where 
you  can,  turn  to  the  worse  your  girl’s  attractions, 
and  by  a  narrow  margin  ci’iticise  amiss. ^  Call  her 
fat,  if  she  is  full-breasted,  black,  if  dark-com¬ 
plexioned  in  a  slender  woman  leanness  can  be 
made  a  reproach.  If  she  is  not  simple,  she  can  be 
called  pert:  if  she  is  honest,  she  can  be  called 
simple.  Nay  more,  whatever  gift  your  mistress 
lacks,  ever  with  coaxing  words  pray  her  to  employ  it. 
Insist  that  she  sing,  if  she  be  without  a  voice ;  make 
her  dance,  if  she  know  not  how  to  move  her  arms. 
Has  her  speech  an  accent?  make  her  talk  much 
with  you  j  she  has  never  learnt  to  touch  the  strings? 
call  for  the  lyre.  Her  gait  is  awkward?  take  her 
for  a  walk ;  her  breast  is  all  swelling  paps  ?  let  no 
bands  conceal  the  fault.  If  her  teeth  are  ugly,  tell 
her  something  to  make  her  laugh;  are  her  eyes 
weak  ?  recouirt  a  tearful  tale.  It  will  profit,  too, 
of  a  sudden,  when  she  has  not  prepared  herself  for 
anyone,  to  speed  of  a  morning  to  your  mistress. 
We  are  won  by  dress;  all  is  concealed  by  gems 
and  gold ;  a  woman  is  the  least  part  of  herself. 
Often  may  you  ask,  where  is  there  aught  to  love 
amid  so  much  ;  with  this  aegis  wealthy  Love  deceives 
the  eye.  Arrive  unexpectedly:  safe  yourself,  you 
will  catch  her  unarmed  ;  she  will  fall,  hapless  woman, 
by  her  own  defects.  Yet  tis  not  safe  to  tiust  this 
pi’ecept  overmuch,  for  artless  beauty  deceives  many 

1  i.e.,  just  get  on  the  wrong  side  of  truth  in  your  Criticism. 

201 


OVID 


Tum  quoque'j  compositis  cum  collinit  ora  venenis. 

Ad  dominae  vultus  (nec  pudor  obstet)  eas. 

Pyxidas  invenies  et  rerum  mille  colores. 

Et  fluere  in  tepidos  oesypa  lapsa  sinus. 

Illa  tuas  redolent,  Phineu,  medicamina  mensas  :  355 

Non  semel  hinc  stomacho  nausea  facta  meo. 

Nunc  tibi  quae  medio  veneids  praestemus  in  usu. 
Eloquar  :  ex  omni  est  parte  fugandus  amor. 

Multa  quidem  ex  illis  pudor  est  mihi  dicere  ;  sed  tu 
Ingenio  verbis  concipe  plura  meis.  360 

Nuper  enim  nostros  quidam  carpsere  libellos. 

Quorum  censura  Musa  proterva  mea  est. 

Dummodo  sic  placeam,  dum  toto  canter  in  orbe. 

Quod  volet,  inpugnent  unus  et  alter  opus. 

Ingenium  magni  livor  detractat  Homeri :  365 

Quisquis  es,  ex  illo,  Zoile,  nomen  habes. 

Et  tua  sacrilegae  laniarunt  carmina  linguae. 

Pertulit  huc  victos  quo  duce  Troia  deos. 

Summa  petit  livor ;  perflant  altissima  venti : 

Summa  petunt  dextra  fulmina  missa  lovis.  370 

At  tu,  quicumque  es,  quem  nostra  licentia  laedit. 

Si  sapis,  ad  numeros  exige  quidque  suos. 

Fortia  Maeonio  gaudent  pede  bella  referri  ; 

Deliciis  illic  quis  locus  esse  potest  ? 

Grande  sonant  tragici ;  tragicos  decet  ira  cothurnos:  375 
Usibus  e  mediis  soccus  habendus  erit. 

Liber  in  adversos  hostes  stringatur  iambus. 

Seu  celer,  extremum  seu  trahat  ille  pedem. 

351  compositis  cum  collinit  Riese:  compositis  cum  linit  E. 

1  Phineus  was  punished  for  cruelty  to  his  sons  by  the 
Harpies,  who  made  the  food  on  his  table  foul  and  stinking 
cf.  Virg.,  Aen.  3.  211. 

^  A  severe  critic  of  Homer  (hence  called  Homeromastix)  who 
lived  under  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  285-247, 

202 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

a  lover.  Then  too^  when  she  is  painting  her  eheeks 
with  concoctions  of  dyes,  go  (let  not  shame  hinder 
you)  and  see  your  mistress’  face.  Boxes  you  will 
find,  and  a  thousand  colours,  and  juices  that  melt 
and  drip  into  her  warm  bosom.  Such  drugs  smell 
of  your  table,  Phineus;^  not  once  only  has  my 
stomach  grown  queasy  at  them. 

Now  I  will  tell  you  what  I  recommend  in  the 
midst  of  the  practice  of  love  ;  passion  must  be 
repelled  on  every  side.  Much  of  this  indeed  I  am 
ashamed  to  speak ;  but  do  you  by  your  wit  imagine 
more  than  my  words  say.  For  certain  folk  of  late 
have  found  fault  with  my  writings,  and  brand  my 
Muse  as  a  wanton.  Yet  so  long  as  I  please  thereby, 
so  long  as  I  am  sung  in  all  the  world,  let  this  man 
or  that  attack  me  as  he  will.  Envy  disparages  great 
Homer’s  genius  ;  whoever  you  are,  Zoilus,^  you  get 
your  fame  from  him.  You  too,  under  whose  guidance 
Troy  brought  hither  her  vanquished  gods — your 
poems  too  irreverent  tongues  have  wounded.  What 
is  highest  is  Envy’s  mark  ;  winds  sweep  the  summits, 
and  thunderbolts  sped  by  Jove  s  right  hand  seek  out 
the  heights.  But  you,  whoever  you  are  whom  my 
freedom  hurts,  suit  each  theme,  if  you  are  wise,  to 
its  proper  numbers.  Valiant  wars  rejoice  to  be  sung 
in  Maeonian  metre  ;  ®  what  place  can  be  found  there 
for  lovers’  tales  ?  Tragedians  sound  a  noble  strain  ; 
anger  becomes  the  tragic  buskin  ;  the  sock  must 
be  used  for  common  scenes.  Let  the  free  iambus 
be  drawn  ^  against  the  opposing  foe,  whether  it 
rapidly  advance,  or  drag  its  final  foot.®  Let  winsome 

3  i.e.,  hexameters,  the  metre  of  Homer,  the  Maeonian  bard. 

«  i.e.,  like  a  sword.  ,  n  * 

5  “celer”  refers  to  the  ordinary  iambic,  what  follows  to 
the  Scazon,  or  halting  iambic,  in  which  the  last  foot  is  a 
spondee. 


203 


OVID 


Blanda  pharetratos  elegeia  cantet  Amores, 

Et  levis  arbitrio  ludat  amica  suo.  380 

Callimachi  numeris  non  est  dicendus  Achilles ; 

Cydippe  non  est  oris,  Homere,  tui. 

Quis  feret  Andromaches  peragentem  Thaida  partes  } 
Peccat,  in  Andromache  Thaida  quisquis  agat. 

Thais  in  arte  mea  est ;  lascivia  libera  nostra  est ;  385 

.Vil  mihi  cum  vitta ;  Thais  in  arte  mea  est. 

Si  mea  materiae  respondet  Musa  iocosae. 

Vicimus,  et  falsi  criminis  acta  rea  est. 

Rumpere,  Livor  edax  magnum  iam  nomen  habemus  ; 

Maius  erit,  tantum  quo  pede  coepit  eat.  390 

Sed  nimium  properas  :  vivam  modo,  plura  dolebis  ; 

Et  capiunt  animi  carmina  multa  mei. 

Nam  iuvat,  et  studium  famae  mihi  crevit  honore  ; 

Principio  clivi  noster  anhelat  equus. 

Tantum  se  nobis  elegi  debere  fatentur,  395 

Quantum  Vergilio  nobile  debet  epos. 

Hactenus  invidiae  respondimus  :  attrahe  lora 
Fortius,  et  gyro  curre,  poeta,  tuo. 

Ergo  ubi  concubitus  et  opus  iuvenale  petetur. 

Et  prope  promissae  tempora  noctis  erunt,  400 

Gaudia  ne  dominae,  pleno  si  corpore  sumes. 

Te  capiant,  ineas  quamlibet  ante,  velim  ; 

Quamlibet  invenias,  in  qua  tua  prima  voluptas 
Desinat :  a  prima  proxima  segnis  erit. 

Sustentata  venus  gratissima  ;  frigore  soles,  405 

Sole  iuvant  umbrae,  grata  fit  unda  siti. 

Et  pudet,  et  dicam  :  venerem  quoque  iunge  figura. 

Qua  minime  iungi  quamque  decere  putes. 

Nec  labor  efficere  est:  rarae  sibi  vera  fatentur. 

Et  nihil  est,  quod  se  dedecuisse  putent.  4io 

'  The  typical  courtesan  and  hei’oine  respectively.  *  i.e.  Envy. 
204 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


Elegy  sing  of  quivered  Loves,  and  lightly  sport  in 
kindly  mood  at  her  own  pleasure.  Achilles  must  not 
be  told  of  in  the  numbers  of  Callimachus ;  Cydippe 
suits  not  thy  utterance,  Homer.  Who  could  endure 
Thais  playing  Andromache’s  part?^  she  errs,  who 
in  Andromache  plays  the  part  of  Thais.  Thais  is 
the  subject  of  my  art ;  unfettered  is  my  love-making  : 
naught  have  I  to  do  with  fillets ;  Thais  is  the 
subject  of  my  art.  If  my  Muse  meets  the  charge  ot 
mirthful  themes,  I  have  won,  and  she  is  accused  on 
a  false  charge.  Burst  thyself,  greedy  Envy!  my 
fame  is  great  already  ;  it  will  be  gi’eater  still,  so  it 
keep  its  first  good  fortune.  But  you  ^  haste  over¬ 
much  ;  if  I  but  live,  you  will  grieve  the  more ; 
many  a  song  in  store  has  my  genius  yet.  For  the 
desire  of  fame  delights  me,  and  has  grown  with  my 
renown  ;  my  steed  pants  but  at  the  beginning  of  the 
slope.  Elegy  admits  it  owes  as  much  to  me  as  the 
noble  Epic  owes  to  Virgil. 

So  far  I  have  but  made  answer  to  reproach  :  pull 
the  rein  more  strongly,  and  run,  poet,  in  thy  proper 
track.  When  therefore  union  is  sought  and  the 
work  of  lusty  youth,  and  the  time  of  the  promised 
night  draws  nigh,  lest  your  pleasure  in  your  mistress 
enthral  you,  if  you  take  it  with  full  vigour,  I  would 
have  you  be  with  someone  first ;  find  someone 
in  whom  the  first  bliss  may  spend  itself:  that 
which  follows  will  be  slow  to  come.  Pleasure 
deferred  is  keenest :  in  cold  we  enjoy  the  sun,  in 
sunshine  shade,  in  thirst  water  is  welcome.  I  am 
ashamed,  yet  I  will  say  it ;  choose  also  a  posture  for 
your  union  that  you  think  least  helpful  and  least  be¬ 
coming.  Nor  is  that  hard  to  manage  :  few  women 
admit  the  truth,  nor  is  there  anything  they  will  think 

205 


OVID 


Tuiic  etiam  iubeo  totas  aperire  fenestras. 

Turpiaque  admisso  membra  notare  die. 

At  simul  ad  metas  venit  finita  voluptas, 

Lassaque  cum  tota  corpora  mente  iacent. 

Dum  piget,  et  malis  nullam  tetigisse  puellam,  415 

Tacturusque  tibi  non  videare  diu. 

Tunc  animo  signa,  quodcumque  in  corpore  mendum  est. 
Luminaque  in  vitiis  illius  usque  tene. 

Forsitan  haec  aliquis  (nam  sunt  quoque)  parva  vocabit. 
Sed  quae  non  prosunt  singula,  multa  iuvant.  420 
Parva  necat  morsu  spatiosum  vipera  taurum : 

A  cane  non  magno  saepe  tenetur  aper. 

Tu  tantum  numero  pugna,  praeceptaque  in  unum 
Contrahe  :  de  multis  grandis  acervus  erit. 

Sed  quoniam  moi-es  totidem,  totidemque  figurae,  425 
Non  sunt  iudiciis  omnia  danda  meis. 

Quo  tua  non  possunt  offendi  pectora  facto. 

Forsitan  hoc  alio  iudice  crimen  erit. 

Ille  quod  obscenas  in  aperto  corpore  pai-tes 

Viderat,  in  cursu  qui  fuit,  haesit  amor ;  430 

Ille  quod  a  Veneris  rebus  surgente  puella 
Vidit  in  inmundo  signa  pudenda  toro. 

Luditis,  o  siquos  potuerunt  ista  movere  ; 

Adflarant  tepidae  pectora  vesti'a  faces. 

Adtrahet  ille  puer  contentos  fortius  arcus  ;  435 

Saucia  maiorem  turba  petetis  opem. 

Quid,  qui  clam  latuit  reddente  obscena  puella. 

Et  vidit,  quae  mos  ipse  videre  vetat  ? 

Di  melius,  quam  nos  moneamus  talia  quemquam  ! 

Ut  prosint,  non  sunt  expedienda  tamen.  440 


2o6 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


has  not  become  them.  Then  too  I  bid  you  open  all  the 
windows^  and  by  the  admitted  light  observe  unseemly 
limbs.  But  as  soon  as  pleasure  has  reached  its  goal 
and  is  spent,  and  bodies  and  minds  are  utterly 
weary,  while  boredom  is  on  you  and  you  wish  you 
had  never  touched  a  woman,  and  you  think  you  will 
not  touch  one  again  for  long,  then  mark  well  in 
your  mind  every  blemish  her  body  has,  and  keep 
your  eye  ever  on  her  faults.  Someone  perchance 
will  call  them  small  (for  so  they  are),  but  things  that 
avail  not  singly  help  when  thej'  are  many.  The  tiny 
viper’s  bite  slays  the  spacious  bull :  the  boar  is  often 
held  by  a  small  hound.  Only  fight  with  the  aid  of 
numbers,  and  gather  my  precepts  all  together ;  many 
will  make  a  mighty  heap.  But  since  there  are  so 
many  fashions  and  so  many  postures,  trust  not 
wholly  to  my  counsels.  What  cannot  offend  your 
feelings,  perhaps  will  be  a  reproach  to  another’s 
judgment.  One  passion  was  checked,  because  the 
lover,  in  full  train,  saw  the  obscene  parts  exposed ; 
another,  because,  when  the  woman  arose  from  the 
business  of  love,  the  couch  was  seen  to  be  soiled  by 
shameful  marks.  Y ou  are  not  in  earnest,  if  any  there 
be  whom  such  things  have  power  to  influence  :  your 
hearts  were  kindled  by  feeble  fires.  More  strongly 
will  that  Boy  bend  his  taut  bow-string ;  a  wounded 
crowd,  you  will  seek  more  potent  aid.^  What  of 
him  who  lurked  in  hiding  while  the  girl  performed 
her  obseenities,  and  saw  what  even  Custom  forbids 
to  see  ?  Heaven  forfend  I  should  give  anyone  such 
counsel !  though  it  may  help,  ’twere  better  not  to 

^  i.e.,  you  have  yet  to  experience  what  passion  really 
means. 


207 


OVID 


Hortor  et,  ut  pariter  binas  Iiabeatis  amicas  : 

Fortior  est,  plures  siquis  habere  potest ; 

Secta  bipertito  cum  mens  discurrit  utroque. 

Alterius  vires  subtrahit  alter  amor. 

Grandia  per  multos  tenuantur  flumina  rivos,  445 

Saevaque  diducto  stipite  flamma  perit. 

Non  satis  una  tenet  cei’atas  ancora  puppes. 

Nec  satis  est  liquidis  unicus  hamus  aquis  : 

Qui  sibi  iam  pridem  solacia  bina  paravit, 

lani  pridem  summa  victor  in  arce  fuit.  450 

At  tibi,  qui  fueris  dominae  male  creditus  uni. 

Nunc  saltem  novus  est  inveniendus  amor. 

Pasiphaes  Minos  in  Procride  perdidit  ignes  : 

Cessit  ab  Idaea  coniuge  victa  prior. 

Amphilochi  frater  ne  Phegida  semper  amaret,  455 

Callirhoe  fecit  parte  recepta  tori. 

Et  Parin  Oenone  summos  tenuisset  ad  annos. 

Si  non  Oebalia  pelice  laesa  foret. 

Coniugis  Odrysio  placuisset  forma  tyranno  : 

Sed  melior  clausae  forma  sororis  erat.  460 

Quid  moror  exemplis,  quorum  me  turba  fatigat  ? 

Successore  novo  vincitur  omnis  amor. 

Fortius  e  multis  mater  desiderat  unum. 

Quam  quae  flens  clamat  '^tu  mihi  solus  eras.” 

Et  ne  forte  putes  nova  me  tibi  condere  iura  465 

(Atque  utinam  inventi  gloria  nostra  foret !), 

Vidit  ut  Atrides  (quid  enim  non  ille  videret, 

Cuius  in  arbitrio  Graecia  tota  fuit  ?) 

Marte  suo  captam  Chryseida,  victor  amabat : 

At  senior  stulte  flebat  ubique  pater.  470 

Quid  lacrimas,  odiose  senex  ?  bene  convenit  illis  : 

Oflicio  natam  laedis,  inepte,  tuo. 

1  Idaea  was  the  second  wife  of  Phineus,  his  first  wife  being 
Cleopatra,  daughter  of  Boreas  and  Oreilliyia. 

2o8 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


use  it.  This  I  do  advise,  have  two  mistresses  at 
once  ;  he  is  yet  stronger  who  can  have  more  ;  when 
the  attention,  parted  in  twain,  shifts  from  this  one 
to  that,  one  passion  saps  the  other’s  force.  Great 
rivers  are  diminished  by  much  channelling,  and  a 
fierce  flame  dies  when  the  fuel  is  divided.  One 
anchor  holds  not  sufficiently  the  wax-smeared  prows, 
one  hook  is  not  enough  in  running  streams :  he 
who  long  since  procured  two  consolations  for  himself, 
long  since  was  victor  in  the  high  citadel.  But  you, 
who  have  wrongly  given  yourself  to  one  mistress, 
now  at  least  must  find  a  second  love.  In  Procris 
Minos  lost  his  passion  for  Pasiphae  ;  before  Idaea, 
the  first  wife,  vanquished,  gave  way.^  Callirhoe,  who 
shared  his  couch,  was  the  cause  tliat  the  brother  of 
Amphilochus^  did  not  for  ever  love  Phegeus’  daughter. 
Oenone  had  kept  Paris  till  life  was  o’er,  had  she  not 
been  harmed  by  her  Oebalian  rival.  His  wife’s 
beauty  had  pleased  the  Odrysian  tyrant,®  but  superior 
was  the  beauty  of  her  imprisoned  sister.  Why  do  I 
waste  time  on  cases  whose  number  wearies  me  ?  all 
love  is  vanquished  by  a  succeeding  love.  With 
better  heart  does  a  mother  mourn  one  son  out  of 
many  than  she  who  cries  in  tears  “  thou  wert  my 
only  one.”  And  lest  you  think  I  am  giving  you  new 
laws  (and  would  that  the  glory  of  the  discovery  were 
mine),  when  Atrides  saw  (for  what  could  he  not  see, 
in  whose  power  all  Greece  lay  .^)  Chryseis  the  prisoner 
of  his  army,  he,  the  conqueror,  loved  her :  but 
everywhere  her  old  sire  wept  stupid  tears.  Why  do 
you  weep,  hateful  old  man?  it  is  well  with  them; 
you  are  hurting  your  daughter,  you  fool,  by  your 

2  Alcmaeon,  who  left  Alphesiboea  for  Callirhoe. 

®  Tereus,  who  ravished  Philomela,  sister  of  his  wife 
Procne. 

209 

P 


OVID 


Quam  postquam  reddi  Calchas,  ope  tutus  Achillis, 
lusserat,  et  patria  est  illa  recepta  domo, 

“Est”  ait  Atrides  “illius  proxima  forma,  475 

Et,  si  prima  sinat  syllaba,  nomen  idem  : 

Hanc  mihi,  si  sapiat,  per  se  concedat  Achilles  : 

Si  minus,  imperium  sentiat  ille  meum. 

Quod  siquis  vestrum  factum  hoc  incusat,  Achivi, 

Est  aliquid  valida  sceptra  tenere  manu.  480 

Nam  .si  rex  ego  sum,  nec  mecum  dormiat  ulla. 

In  mea  Thersites  regna,  licebit,  eat.” 

Dixit,  et  hanc  habuit  solacia  magna  prioris. 

Et  posita  est  cura  cura  repulsa  nova. 

Ergo  adsume  novas  auctore  Agamemnone  flammas,  485 
Ut  tuus  in  bivio  distineatur  amor. 

Quaeris,  ubi  invenias  ?  artes,  i,  perlege  nostras  ; 

Plena  puellarum  iam  tibi  navis  erit. 

Quod  siquid  praecepta  valent  mea,  siquid  Apollo 

Utile  mortales  perdocet  ore  meo,  490 

Quamvis  infelix  media  torreberis  Aetna, 

Frigidior  glacie  fac  videare  tuae  : 

Et  sanum  simula,  ne,  siquid  forte  dolebis, 

Sentiat ;  et  ride,  cum  tibi  flendus  eris. 

Non  ego  te  iubeo  medias  abrumpere  curas  :  495 

Non  sunt  imperii  tam  fera  iussa  mei. 

Quod  non  es,  simula,  positosque  imitare  furores  ; 

Sic  facies  vere,  quod  meditatus  eris. 

Saepe  ego,  ne  biberem,  volui  dormire  videri : 

Dum  videor,  somno  lumina  victa  dedi :  500 

Deceptum  risi,  qui  se  simulabat  amare. 

In  laqueos  auceps  decidei’atque  suos. 


210 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

officiousness.  And  when  Calchas^  safe  ’neath 
Achilles’  protection^  had  ordered  her  to  be  restored, 
and  she  was  taken  back  by  her  father’s  house, 
“  There  is  one,”  said  Atrides,  “  whose  beauty  is  next 
to  hers,  and,  but  for  the  first  syllable,^  the  name  is 
just  the  same.  Her,  were  he  wise,  Achilles  would 
freely  yield  me  ;  otherwise  let  him  feel  my  power. 
If  any  of  you,  Achaeans,  blames  this  deed,  it  is 
something  to  hold  a  sceptre  in  strong  grasp.  For  if 
I  am  king,  and  no  maiden  sleep  with  me,  Thersites 
may  sit  upon  my  throne.”  He  spoke,  and  took  her 
as  ample  solace  for  his  former  love ;  his  passion  was 
allayed,  for  the  new'  drove  out  the  old.  Learn  there¬ 
fore  from  Agamemnon,  and  take  another  fiame,  that 
your  love  may  be  sundered  at  the  parting  of  the 
ways.  Do  you  ask  where  you  may  find  one  ?  go,  read 
my  precepts,  your  ship  will  soon  be  full  of  women. 

But  if  my  counsels  avail  aught,  if  Apollo  by  my 
mouth  teaches  men  aught  useful,  though  you  are 
miserably  scorched  in  Aetna’s  midst,  yet  make  your¬ 
self  seem  colder  than  ice  to  your  mistress  ;  and  feign 
to  be  heart-whole,  lest,  if  perchance  you  show  your 
anguish,  she  notice  it ;  and  laugh,  when  you  would 
mourn  your  plight.  ’Tis  not  that  I  bid  you  break  off 
your  passion  in  mid-career :  such  cruel  commands 
belong  not  to  my  rule.  Feign  what  you  are  not,  and 
counterfeit  an  assuaged  frenzy  ;  so  will  you  do  in  fact 
what  you  have  practised  doing. ^  Often  have  I  wished 
to  seem  to  sleep,  that  I  might  not  drink ;  and,  while 
seeming,  I  have  surrendered  vanquished  eyes  to 
slumber  :  I  have  laughed  at  one  deceived,  who  feigned 
to  love,  and  fell  like  a  bird-catcher  into  his  own  snare. 

^  Agamemnon  demanded  Briseis  in  exchange  for  Chryseis, 
Chryses’  daughter.  ^  i.e,,  you  will  really  assuage  it. 

2  I  I 

p  2 


OVID 


Intrat  amor  mentes  usu,  dediscitur  usu  : 

Qui  poterit  sanum  fingere,  sanus  erit. 

Dixeiut,  ut  venias  ;  pacta  tibi  nocte  venito  ;  505 

Veneris,  et  fuerit  ianua  clausa  :  feres. 

Nec  dic  blanditias,  nec  fac  convicia  posti. 

Nec  latus  in  duro  limine  pone  tuum. 

Postera  lux  aderit :  careant  tua  verba  querellis, 

Et  nulla  in  vultu  signa  dolentis  habe.  510 

lam  ponet  fastus,  cum  te  languere  videbit : 

Hoc  etiam  nostra  munus  ab  arte  feres. 

Te  quoque  falle  tamen,  nec  sit  tibi  finis  amandi 
Propositus  ;  frenis  saepe  repugnat  equus. 

Utilitas  lateat  ;  quod  non  profitebere,  fiet :  515 

Quae  nimis  apparent  retia,  vitat  avis. 

Nec  sibi  tam  placeat,  nec  te  contemnere  possit ; 

Sume  animos,  animis  cedat  ut  illa  tuis. 

Ianua  forte  patet  ?  quamvis  revocabere,  transi. 

Est  data  nox  ?  dubita  nocte  venire  data.  620 

Posse  pati  facile  est,  ubi,  si  patientia  desit, 

Protinus  ex  facili  gaudia  ferre  licet. 

Et  quisquam  praecepta  potest  mea  dura  vocare  ? 

En,  etiam  partes  conciliantis  ago. 

Nam  quoniam  variant  animi,  variabimus  artes ;  626 

Mille  mali  si:)ecies,  mille  salutis  erunt. 

Corpora  vix  ferro  quaedam  sanantur  acuto  ; 

Auxilium  multis  sucus  et  herba  fuit. 

Mollior  es,  neque  abire  potes,  vinctusque  teneris. 

Et  tua  saevus  Amor  sub  pede  colla  premit  ?  530 

Desine  luctari :  referant  tua  carbasa  venti. 

Quaque  vocant  fluctus,  hac  tibi  remus  eat. 

521  si  patientia  edd.  :  sapientia  R. 


212 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


By  wont  love  comes  into  the  mind,  by  wont  is  love 
unlearnt :  he  who  can  counterfeit  sanity  will  be 
sane.^  She  has  bidden  you  come :  come  on  the 
night  arranged  for  you ;  you  have  come,  and  the 
door  is  shut :  you  must  bear  it.  Neither  utter 
endearments  nor  hurl  abuse  at  the  door,  nor  lay 
your  side  on  the  hard  threshold.  The  next  day 
dawns  :  let  there  be  no  complaining  in  your  woi'ds, 
no  sign  of  grief  upon  your  face.  Soon  will  she  drop 
her  pride,  when  she  sees  your  ardour  fail :  this  profit 
too  will  you  win  from  my  art.  Yet  deceive  yourself 
also,  nor  think  to  make  an  end  of  loving  :  the  steed 
often  resists  the  reins.  Conceal  your  gain ;  what 
you  do  not  proclaim  will  come  about :  the  bird  avoids 
the  nets  that  show  too  plainly.  Let  her  not  please 
herself  so  w^ell,  nor  be  able  to  despise  you :  take 
courage,  that  to  your  courage  she  ma}!^  yield.  Her 
door  maybe  is  open  ?  pass  it  by,  though  she  call  you 
back.  She  has  granted  a  night?  hesitate  to  come 
on  the  night  she  grants  you.  To  be  able  to  endure 
is  easy,  when,  should  endurance  fail,  you  can  at  once 
win  the  favours  of  some  easy  mistress. 

And  can  anyone  call  my  precepts  hard  ?  lo  !  I 
even  play  the  reconciler.  For  since  natures  vary, 
I  will  vary  my  arts ;  the  disease  has  a  thousand 
forms,  I  have  a  thousand  remedies.  Some  bodies 
even  sharp  steel  will  scarcely  heal ;  to  many  juices 
and  herbs  give  aid.  You  are  too  soft-hearted,  and 
cannot  tear  yourself  away,  but  are  held  fast-bound, 
and  cruel  Love  has  set  his  foot  upon  your  neck  ? 
Cease  to  struggle  :  let  the  winds  bear  your  canvas 
backwards ;  where  the  waves  invite  you,  there  let 

^  If  he  can  pretend  that  the  frenzy  has  left  him  [sanum 
being  the  opposite  of  furentem,  cf.  1.  493)  then  he  will  be 
“reallj’  cured”  (sanus). 


213 


OVID 


Explenda  est  sitis  ista  tibij  quo  perditus  ardes ; 

Cedimus  ;  e  medio  iam  licet  amne  bibas : 

Sed  bibe  plus  etiam,  quam  quod  praecordia  poscunt,  535 
Gutture  fac  pleno  sumpta  redundet  aqua. 

Perfruere  usque  tua,  nullo  prohibente,  puella ; 

Illa  tibi  noctes  auferat,  illa  dies. 

Taedia  quaere  mali :  faciunt  et  taedia  finem. 

Iam  quoque,  cum  credes  posse  carere,  mane,  640 
Dum  bene  te  cumules  et  copia  tollat  amorem. 

Et  fastidita  non  iuvet  esse  domo. 

Fit  quoque  longus  amor,  quem  diffidentia  nutrit : 

Hunc  tu  si  quaeres  ponere,  pone  metum. 

Qui  timet,  ut  sua  sit,  ne  quis  sibi  detrahat  illam,  545 
Ille  Machaonia  vix  ope  sanus  erit. 

Plus  amat  e  natis  mater  plerumque  duobus. 

Pro  cuius  reditu,  quod  gerit  arma,  timet. 

Est  prope  Collinam  templum  venerabile  portam  ; 

Inposuit  templo  nomina  celsus  Eryx  :  550 

Est  illic  Lethaeus  Amor,  qui  pectora  sanat, 

Inque  suas  gelidam  lampadas  addit  aquam. 

Illic  et  iuvenes  votis  oblivia  poscunt. 

Et  siqua  est  duro  capta  puella  viro. 

Is  mihi  sic  dixit  (dubito,  verusne  Cupido,  555 

An  somnus  fuerit :  sed  puto,  somnus  erat) 

“  O  qui  sollicitos  modo  das,  modo  demis  amores, 

Adice  praeceptis  hoc  quoque,  Naso,  tuis. 

Ad  mala  quisque  animum  referat  sua,  ponet  amorem  ; 

Omnibus  illa  deus  plusve  minusve  dedit.  660 

214 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

your  oar  be  plied.  You  must  sate  that  thirst  where¬ 
with  you  despairingly  burn ;  I  give  way ;  now  you 
may  drink  from  mid-stream  :  but  drink  even  more 
than  your  heart  craves  for ;  see  that  the  water  you 
quaff  overflows  from  your  full  throat.  Continue, 
unchecked,  to  enjoy  your  mistress ;  let  hers  be  your 
nights,  and  hers  your  days.  Seek  to  be  sated  with 
your  complaint ;  satiety  too  can  make  an  end. 
Still  remain,  even  when  you  think  you  could  do 
without,  until  you  have  all  your  fill,  and  plenty 
destroys  passion,  and  her  house,  grown  distasteful, 
causes  you  no  delight. 

That  passion  also  lingers  long  that  diffidence 
fosters ;  if  you  would  be  rid  of  this,  be  rid  of  fear. 
He  who  fears  lest  she  be  his  no  more,  lest  some¬ 
one  take  her  from  him,  will  scarce  be  healed  by 
Machaon’s  art.^^  A  mother  of  two  sons  usually  loves 
that  one  more  for  whose  return  from  the  wars  she  is 
afraid.  Near  the  Colline  Gate  there  is  a  venerable 
shrine; 2  lofty  Eryx  has  set  his  name  thereon; 
Lethaean  Love  is  there,  who  makes  hearts  whole, 
and  pours  cool  water  upon  his  torch.  There  youths 
seek  oblivion  for  their  vows,  and  maidens  under  the 
spell  of  a  heartless  lover.  Thus  did  he  speak  to  me 
(1  know  not  whether  it  was  very  Cupid,  or  a  dream  : 
a  dream,  I  fancy) ;  “  O  thou  who  now  givest,  now 

takest  away  heart-troubling  passion,  add  this  too,  O 
Naso,  to  thy  precepts.  Let  each  give  his  mind  to 
his  own  malady :  he  will  be  rid  of  his  love ;  to  all 
has  heaven  assigned  it,  more  or  less.  Let  him  who 

1  Machaon  was  a  brother  of  Podalirius,  son  of  Asclepius, 

see  note  on  1.  313. 

8  A  temple  of  Venus  Erycina. 


215 


OVID 


Qui  Puteal  lanumque  timet  celeresque  Kalendas, 
Torqueat  hunc  aeris  mutua  summa  sui ; 

Cui  durus  pater  est,  ut  voto  caetera  cedant. 

Huic  pater  ante  oculos  durus  habendus  erit ; 

Hic  male  dotata  pauper  cum  coniuge  vivit,  565 

Uxorem  fato  credat  obesse  suo. 

Est  tibi  rure  bono  generosae  fertilis  uvae 
Vinea?  ne  nascens  usta  sit  uva,  time. 

Ille  habet  in  reditu  navim  ;  mare  semper  iniquum 
Cogitet  et  damno  littora  foeda  suo.  570 

Filius  hunc  miles,  te  filia  nubilis  angat ; 

Et  quis  non  causas  mille  doloris  habet  ? 

Ut  posses  odisse  tuam,  Pari,  funera  fratrum 
Debueras  oculis  substituisse  tuis.” 

Plura  loquebatur  :  placidum  puerilis  imago  575 

Destituit  somnum,  si  modo  somnus  erat. 

Quid  faciam  ?  media  navim  Palinurus  in  unda 
Deserit ;  ignotas  cogor  inire  vias. 

Quisquis  amas,  loca  sola  nocent,  loca  sola  caveto  ! 

Quo  fugis  ?  in  populo  tutior  esse  potes.  680 

Non  tibi  secretis  (augent  secreta  furores) 

Est  opus  ;  auxilio  turba  futura  tibi  est. 

Tristis  eris,  si  solus  eris,  dominaeque  relictae 
Ante  oculos  facies  stabit,  ut  ipsa,  tuos. 

Tristior  idcirco  nox  est,  quam  tempora  Phoebi ;  585 

Quae  relevet  luctus,  turba  sodalis  abest. 

Nec  fuge  conloquium,  nec  sit  tibi  ianua  clausa. 

Nec  tenebris  vultus  flebilis  abde  tuos. 

566  facto  .  .  .  obesse  suo  B :  fato  edd. :  facito  .  .  .  adesse 

suam  Madvig. 


^  The  Puteal  was  a  circular  enclosure  in  the  Comitium  at 
Rome,  sometimes  called  Puteal  Libonis,  from  a  certain  Libo 
who  erected  it ;  it  stood  near  the  temple  of  Janus,  and  was 
the  scene  of  financial  transactions.  The  temple  of  Janus  was 
2i6 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


fears  the  Puteal  and  Janus  and  the  swift  Kalends  be 
tortured  by  his  sum  of  debt^;  he  who  has  a  cruel 
sire,  though  all  else  be  granted  to  his  prayer,  must 
keep  that  cruel  sire  before  his  eyes ;  here  lives  a 
poor  man  with  an  ill-dowered  w'ife  :  let  him  think 
his  wife  stands  in  the  way  of  his  destiny.  You  have 
a  fruitful  estate  and  a  vineyard  abundant  in  fine 
grapes?  fear  lest  the  ripening  grapes  be  scorched. 
Another  has  a  ship  returning  home ;  let  him  fancy 
the  sea  is  ever  stormy,  and  the  coasts  befouled  with 
his  fortune’s  wreck.  Let  one  be  distressed  for  a 
soldier  son,  another  for  a  daughter  of  ripe  years ; 
and  who  has  not  a  thousand  causes  of  worry  ?  To 
be  able  to  hate  your  mistress,  Paris,  you  should  have 
placed  your  brothers’  deaths  before  your  eyes.” 
More  was  he  speaking :  the  boyish  image  fled  from 
my  tranquil  sleep,  if  sleep  it  was.  What  ani  I  to 
do  ?  in  mid-waters  Palinurus  ^  deserts  his  ship ;  I 
am  forced  to  travel  ways  I  know  not. 

W'hoever  you  are  that  love,  solitary  places  are 
dangerous,  beware  of  solitudes.  '■  Whither  do  you 
flee?  you  will  be  safer  in  a  crowd.  You  have  no 
need  for  seci’ecy  (secrecy  adds  to  passion) ;  a  crowd 
will  give  you  succour.  If  alone,  you  will  be  sad, 
and  the  shape  of  your  deserted  mistress  will  stand,  as 
if  herself,  before  your  eyes.  Hence  night  is  sadder 
than  the  hours  of  Phoebus;  the  companions,  who 
might  relieve  your  gloom,  are  absent.  And  fly  not 
intercourse,  nor  let  your  door  be  closed,  noi  hide 
your  tearful  countenance  in  darkness.  Ever  have 


also  the  place  for  merchants  and  money-changers,  though  tlie 
name  can  also  refer  to  the  Kalends  of  January,  when  interest 
was  due,  or  money  had  to  be  repaid.  .  i 

2  The  steersman  of  Aeneas,  who  fell  into  the  water  anci 

was  drowned  {Aen,  5.  854  sqq. ). 


217 


OVID 


Semper  habe  Pyladen  aliquem,  qui  curet  Orestem  ; 

H  ic  quoque  amicitiae  non  levis  usus  erit.  690 

Quid,  nisi  secretae  laeserunt  Phyllida  silvae  } 

Certa  necis  causa  est :  incomitata  fuit. 

Ibat,  ut  Edono  referens  trieterica  Baccho 
Ire  solet  fusis  barbara  turba  comis. 

Et  modo,  qua  poterat,  longum  spectabat  in  aequor,  595 
Nunc  in  harenosa  lassa  iacebat  humo. 

“  Perfide  Demophoon  !  ”  surdas  clamabat  ad  undas, 
Ruptaque  singultu  verba  loquentis  erant. 

Limes  erat  tenuis  longa  subnubilus  umbra. 

Quo  tulit  illa  suos  ad  mare  saepe  pedes.  600 

Nona  terebatur  miserae  via  :  “  videi'it !  ”  inquit. 

Et  spectat  zonam  pallida  facta  suam. 

Aspicit  et  ramos ;  dubitat,  refugitque  quod  audet 
Et  timet,  et  digitos  ad  sua  colla  refert. 

Sithoni,  tunc  certe  vellem  non  sola  fuisses  ;  605 

Non  fiesset  positis  Phyllida  silva  comis. 

Phyllidis  exemplo  nimium  secreta  timeto. 

Laese  vir  a  domina,  laesa  puella  viro. 

Praestiterat  invenis  quidquid  mea  Musa  iubebat, 

Inque  suae  portu  paene  salutis  erat :  610 

Reccidit,  ut  cupidos  inter  devenit  amantes. 

Et,  quae  condiderat,  tela  resumpsit  Amor. 

Siquis  amas,  nec  vis,  facito  contagia  vites ; 

Haec  etiam  pecori  saepe  nocere  solent. 

Dum  spectant  laesos  oculi,  laeduntur  et  ipsi,  615 

Multaque  corporibus  transitione  nocent. 

In  loca  nonnumquam  siccis  arentia  glebis 
De  prope  currenti  flumine  manat  aqua  ; 

Manat  amor  tectus,  si  non  ab  amante  recedas  ; 

Turbaque  in  hoc  omnes  ingeniosa  sumus.  620 

^  i. e.,  we  are  all  cunning  in  finding  ways  of  letting  our 
passion  renew  itself. 

2i8 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

some  Pylades  to  care  for  his  Orestes :  this  too  will 
prove  no  easy  task  of  friendship.  What,  save  the 
secret  woods,  were  Phyllis’  bane  ?  the  cause  of  her 
death  is  sure:  she  had  no  companion.  She  was 
going,  as  the  barbarian  throng  is  wont  to  go,  when 
it  keeps  the  triennial  feast  of  Edonian  Bacchus, 
with  hair  dishevelled,  and  now,  where  she  could, 
she  gazed  on  the  far-flung  sea,  now  weary  lay  on 
the  sandy  ground.  “  Faithless  Demophoon !  she 
cried  to  the  deaf  waves,  and  her  sobbing  broke  the 
words  she  uttered.  There  was  a  narrow  way  o’er- 
cast  by  the  long  shadows,  by  which  she  oft  betook 
herself  to  the  sea.  For  the  ninth  time  she  trod 
her  hapless  path  :  “  Let  him  see  to  it !  she  cries, 
and  turning  pale  looks  at  her  girdle  she  looks  at 
the  branches  also ;  she  hesitates,  and  ^shrinks  from 
what  she  ventures,  and  is  afraid,  and  sets  her  fingers 
at  her  neck.  Then  truly,  Sithonian  maid,  could  I 
wish  thou  hadst  not  been  alone :  the  wood  had  not 
shed  its  leaves  and  wept  for  Phyllis.  By  example 
of  Phyllis  fear  too  much  secrecy,  O  lover  pained  by 
thy  mistress,  O  girl  pained  by  thy  lover ! 

A  youth  had  performed  whate’er  my  Muse  com¬ 
manded,  and  was  nearly  within  the  haven  of  his 
safety;  he  fell  back,  when  he  came  among  eager 
lovers,  and  Love  resumed  the  arms  he  had  put 
away.  If  you  love,  nor  wish  to  love,  see  that  you 
shun  contagion  ;  even  beasts  are  hurt  thereby.  The 
eyes,  in  beholding  the  afflicted,  themselves  suffer 
affliction,  and  many  things  harm  our  bodies  through 
chance  encounter.  Sometimes  water  steals  from  a 
river  running  near  into  dry  and  parching  soil  :  Love 
steals  in  all  unseen,  if  you  go  not  from  your  lover  ; 
in  this  we  are  all  cunning  folk.^  Another  like  you 


219 


OVID 


Alter  item  iam  sanus  erat ;  vicinia  laesit : 

Occursum  dominae  non  tulit  ille  suae. 

N^ulnus  in  antiquum  rediit  male  firma  cicatrix, 
Successumque  artes  non  habuere  meae. 

Proximus  a  tectis  ignis  defenditur  aegre  ;  625 

Utile  finitimis  abstinuisse  locis. 

Nec  quae  ferre  solet  spatiantem  porticus  illam. 

Te  ferat,  officium  neve  colatur  idem. 

Quid  iuvat  admonitu  tepidam  recalescere  mentem  ? 

Alter,  si  possis,  orbis  habendus  erit.  630 

Non  facile  esuriens  posita  retinebere  mensa. 

Et  multam  saliens  incitat  unda  sitim. 

Non  facile  est  taurum  visa  retinere  iuvenca. 

Fortis  equus  visae  semper  adhinnit  equae. 

Haec  ubi  praestiteris,  ut  tandem  littora  tangas,  635 
Non  ipsam  satis  est  deseruisse  tibi. 

Et  soror  et  mater  valeant  et  conscia  nutrix. 

Et  quisquis  dominae  pars  erit  ulla  tuae. 

Nec  veniat  servus,  nec  flens  ancillula  fictum 

Suppliciter  dominae  nomine  dicat  have.  640 

Nec  si  scire  voles,  quid  agat,  tamen,  illa,  rogabis  ; 

Perfer  !  erit  lucro  lingua  retenta  tuo. 

Tu  quoque,  qui  causam  finiti  reddis  amoris. 

Deque  tua  domina  multa  querenda  refers. 

Parce  queri ;  melius  sic  ulciscere  tacendo,  645 

Ut  desideriis  effluat  illa  tuis. 

Et  malim  taceas,  quam  te  desisse  loquaris  : 

Qui  nimium  multis  “  non  amo  ”  dicit,  amat. 

Sed  meliore  fide  paulatim  extinguitur  ignis. 

Quam  subito ;  lente  desine,  tutus  eris.  650 

Flumine  perpetuo  torrens  solet  acrius  ire  : 

Sed  tamen  haec  brevis  est,  illa  perennis  aqua, 

646  ut  MSS. :  dum  edd. 

651  acrius  edd. :  altior  R :  altius  other  MSS.  :  acrior  Riese. 

220 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


was  already  cured  :  neighbourhood  proved  his  bane  : 
meeting  his  mistress  was  too  much  for  him.  The 
scar  ill-healed  relapsed  to  the  old  wound,  and  my 
arts  sustained  defeat.  A  fire  next  door  is  ill  re¬ 
pulsed  ;  ’tis  best  to  avoid  the  neighbourhood.  And 
frequent  not  the  colonnade  that  she  frequents  when 
walking,  nor  cultivate  the  same  society.  What  boots 
it  by  remembrance  to  heat  once  more  a  cooling 
passion?  If  you  can,  you  must  live  in  another 
world.  With  difficulty  will  you  be  kept,  when 
hungry,  from  the  appointed  feast,  and  springing 
water  provokes  a  raging  thirst.  ’Tis  hard  to  hold 
the  bull  when  he  spies  the  heifer,  the  lusty  steed 
ever  whinnies  at  the  sight  of  the  mare.  When  this 
is  done,  in  order  at  last  to  gain  the  shore,  it  is  not 
enough  to  leave  her  alone  behind.  Bid  farewell  to 
mother  and  sister,  and  to  the  nurse  her  confidant, 
and  to  whoever  will  be  any  part  of  your  mistress. 
Nor  let  her  slave  come,  nor  her  handmaid  with 
feigned  tears  greet  you  imploringly  in  her  mistress’ 
name.  Nor  must  you  ask  how  she  fares,  though 
you  wish  to  know ;  endure  !  you  will  gain  by  being 
tongue-tied.  You  too  who  relate  the  cause  of  ended 
love,  and  recount  your  many  complaints  apinst 
your  mistress,  cease  to  complain ;  thus  by  silence 
will  you  win  better  revenge,  so  that  she  fades  away 
from  your  regrets.  And  I  would  rather  you  were 
silent  than  say  you  had  ceased  to  love ;  he  who  says 
o’er  much  I  love  not  is  in  love.  But  with  better 
surety  is  the  fire  gradually  extinguished  than  on  a 
sudden ;  leave  off  slowly,  and  you  will  be  safe.  A 
torrent  is  wont  to  flow  more  fiercely  than  an  un¬ 
broken  stream ;  but  that  is  short-lived,  this  gdes  on 


22T 


OVID 


Fallat,  et  in  tenues  evanidus  exeat  auras, 

Perque  gradus  molles  emoriatur  amor. 

Sed  modo  dilectam  scelus  est  odisse  puellam  :  655 

Exitus  ingeniis  convenit  iste  feris. 

Non  curare  sat  est :  odio  qui  finit  amorem. 

Aut  amat,  aut  aegre  desinet  esse  miser. 

Turpe  vir  et  mulier,  iuncti  modo,  protinus  hostes  ; 

Non  illas  lites  Appias  ipsa  probat.  660 

Saepe  reas  faciunt,  et  amant ;  ubi  nulla  simultas 
Incidit,  admonitu  liber  aberrat  amor. 

Forte  aderam  iuveni  ;  dominam  lectica  tenebat : 

Horrebant  saevis  omnia  verba  minis, 
lamque  vadaturus  “  lectica  pi-odeat  ”  inquit ;  665 

Prodierat :  visa  coniuge  mutus  erat. 

Et  manus  et  manibus  duplices  cecidere  tabellae. 

Venit  in  amplexus,  atque  “  ita  vincis  ”  ait. 

Tutius  est  aptumque  magis,  discedere  pace. 

Nec  petere  a  thalamis  litigiosa  fora.  670 

Munera  quae  dederas,  habeat  sine  lite,  iubeto : 

Esse  solent  magno  damna  minora  bono. 

Quod  si  vos  aliquis  casus  conducet  in  unum. 

Mente  memor  tota  quae  damus  arma,  tene. 

Nunc  opus  est  armis  ;  hic,  o  fortissime,  pugna  :  675 

Vincenda  est  telo  Penthesilea  tuo. 

Nunc  tibi  rivalis,  nunc  durum  limen  amanti. 

Nunc  subeant  mediis  inrita  verba  deis. 

Nec  compone  comas,  quia  sis  venturus  ad  illam. 

Nec  toga  sit  laxo  conspicienda  sinu.  680 


^  Venus,  because  she  had  a  temple  near  the  fountain  called 
Aqua  Appia ;  cf.  Ars  Am.  1.  82,  3.  452. 

2  Possibly  in  the  legal  sense  of  “adesse,”  “to  act  as 
counsel  for”;  the  “double  tablet”  {i.e.  two  thin  boards 
smeared  with  wax,  that  were  folded  together)  probably  con¬ 
tained  his  accusation ;  for  litigation  between  husbands  and 
222 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


for  ever.  Let  love  fail,  and  vanish  into  tenuous  air, 
and  die  by  slovr  degrees.  But  to  hate  a  woman  once 
loved  is  a  crime  :  that  is  an  end  fitting  to  savage 
minds.  It  is  enough  to  be  indifferent :  he  who 
ends  love  by  hating,  either  loves  still,  or  will  find 
it  hard  to  end  his  misery.  Shameful  is  it  that  a 
man  and  woman  lately  at  one  should  be  foes  forth¬ 
with  ;  the  Appian^  herself  approves  not  such  strife 
as  that.  Men  often  put  women  in  the  dock,  and 
love  them :  where  no  quarrel  comes  love  unre¬ 
membered  slips  aw'ay.  I  happened  to  be  in  the 
company  of  a  youth  ;  ^  his  lady  was  in  her  litter  : 
all  his  speech  bristled  with  savage  threats.  On  the 
})oint  of  summoning  her  on  bail,  “  Let  her  come  forth 
from  the  litter,”  he  cried ;  forth  she  came  :  when  he 
saw  his  wife,  he  was  dumb.  His  hands  dropped,  and 
from  his  hands  the  double  tablet ;  he  rushed  into  her 
arms,  and  cried,  “Thus  thou  dost  conquer.”  It  is 
safer  and  more  fitting  to  separate  in  peace,  nor  to 
hurry  from  marriage  chamber  to  contentious  courts. 
Bid  her  keep  unchallenged  the  gifts  you  gave  :  the 
loss  will  be  outweighed  by  the  greatness  of  your  gain. 
But  if  some  chance  brings  you  together,  use  all  your 
memory  and  wit  to  wield  the  arms  I  give  you. 
Now  have  you  need  of  arms;  here,  brave  warrior, 
must  you  fight :  Penthesilea  ^  must  fall  before  your 
steel.  Remember  now  your  rival,  the  threshold  so 
hard  to  the  lover,  the  fruitless  prayers  to  witnessing 
gods.  Do  not  arrange  your  hair  because  you  are 
meeting  her,  nor  let  your  toga  s  loose  folds  attract 

wives,  of.  Ars.  Am.  2.  153,  4.  It  seems  hardly  possible 
that  “  con jux”  should  here  mean  “mistress,”  though  some 
editors  take  it  so. 

3  The  queen  of  the  Amazons,  slain  in  fight  by  Achilles. 


OVID 


Nulla  sitj  ut  placeas  alienae  cura  puellae; 
lam  facito  e  multis  una  sit  illa  tibi. 

Sed  quid  praeeipue  nostris  conatibus  obstat . 

Eloquar,  exemplo  quemque  docente  suo 
Desinimus  tarde,  quia  nos  speramus  amari :  685 

Dum  sibi  quisque  placet,  credula  turba  sumus. 

At  tu  nec  voces  (quid  enim  fallacius  illis  ?) 

Crede,  nec  aeternos  pondus  habere  deos. 

Neve  puellarum  lacrimis  moveare,  caveto  : 

Ut  flerent,  oculos  erudiere  suos.  690 

Artibus  innumeris  mens  oppugnatur  amantum. 

Ut  lapis  aequoreis  undique  pulsus  aquis. 

Nec  causas  aperi,  quare  divortia  malis : 

Nec  dic,  quid  doleas ;  clam  tamen  usque  dole. 

Nec  peccata  refer,  ne  diluat  :  ipse  favebis,  695 

Ut  melior  causa  causa  sit  illa  tua. 

Qui  silet,  est  firmus  ;  qui  dicit  multa  puellae 
Probra,  satisfieri  postulat  ille  sibi. 

Non  ego  Dulichio  furari  more  sagittas, 

Nec  raptas  ausim  tinguere  in  amne  faces  ;  700 

Nec  nos  purpureas  pueri  resecabimus  alas. 

Nec  sacer  arte  mea  laxior  arcus  erit. 

Consilium  est,  quodcumque  cano  :  parete  canenti, 

Utque  facis,  coeptis,  Phoebe  saluber,  ades. 

Phoebus  adest  :  sonuere  lyrae,  sonuere  pharetrae  ;  705 

Signa  deum  nosco  per  sua  :  Phoebus  adest. 

Confer  Amyclaeis  medicatum  vellus  aenis 
Murice  cum  Tyrio  ;  turpius  illud  erit : 

Vos  quoque  formosis  vestras  confei-te  puellas  ; 

Incipiet  dominae  quemque  pudere  suae  ;  710 

699  furari  Housman,  Palmer  :  furiali  MSS. 

^  i.e,  when  they  swear  that  they  love  us 

224 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


remark.  Take  no  trouble  to  please  a  woman  now 
estranged ;  see  that  she  now  is  one  out  of  many  to 
you. 

But  what  particularly  hinders  our  endeavours  ?  I 
will  speak,  though  each  may  learn  from  his  own 
case.  We  are  slow  in  breaking  off,  because  we  hope 
that  we  are  loved  :  while  each  of  us  flatters  himself, 
we  are  a  believing  crew.  But  believe  them  not  that 
words  (what  can  be  more  deceiving?)  or  the  eternal 
gods  have  weight.^  And  take  care  not  to  be  moved 
by  women’s  tears :  they  have  taught  their  eyes  to 
weep.  By  innumerable  arts  are  lovers’  feelings 
assailed,  as  the  rock  is  beaten  by  waves  on  every 
side.  Reveal  not  the  reasons  why  you  prefer  to 
sepai'ate,  nor  say  what  your  grievance  is  :  yet,  to  your¬ 
self,  keep  up  the  grievance.  Nor  mention  her  short¬ 
comings,  lest  she  remove  them  ;  ymurself  will  be  her 
advocate,  so  that  her  cause  will  be  better  than  yours. 
Silence  is  strength  ;  to  reproach  a  woman  often  is  to 
ask  to  be  satisfied.  I  would  not  dare  to  pilfer  arrows 
in  Dulichian  wise,^  nor  to  drench  in  water  the  stolen 
torch ;  I  shall  not  clip  the  Boy’s  bright  wings,  nor 
by  my  art  unstring  the  sacred  bow.  Whate’er  I 
sing  is  wisdom ;  obey  my  song,  and  thou,  health¬ 
bringing  Phoebus,  aid,  as  thou  dost,  my  enterprise. 
Phoebus  is  nigh  to  aid  ;  his  lyres  and  quivers  have  re¬ 
sounded  ;  I  recognise  the  god  by  his  own  signs : 
Phoebus  is  nigh  to  aid.  Compare  a  fleece  that  Amy- 
clae’s  vats  have  dyed,  with  Tyrian  purple  ;  ’twill  be  of 
baser  hue :  do  you  too  compare  your  girls  with  beauties ; 
each  will  begin  to  be  ashamed  of  his  own  mistress  ; 

2  The  reference  is  to  Ulysses,  who  deceived  Philoctetes 
into  giving  up  the  bow  which  was  to  take  Troy  (see 

1.  111). 

225 

Q 


OVID 


Utraque  formosae  Paridi  potuere  videri^ 

Sed  sibi  conlatam  vicit  utramque  Venus. 

Nec  solam  faciem,  mores  quoque  confer  et  artes  : 

Tantum  iudicio  ne  tuus  obsit  amor. 

Exiguum  est,  quod  deinde  canam  ;  sed  profuit  illud  716 
Exiguum  multis  :  in  quibus  ipse  fui. 

Scripta  cave  relegas  blandae  servata  puellae  : 

Constantes  animos  scripta  relecta  movent. 

Omnia  pone  feros,  quamvis  invitus,  in  ignes. 

Et  dic  “  ardoris  sit  rogus  iste  mei.”  720 

Thestias  absentem  succendit  stipite  natum  : 

Tu  timide  flammae  perfida  verba  dabis  ? 

Si  potes,  et  ceras  remove  :  quid  imagine  muta 
Carperis  hoc  periit  Laodamia  modo. 

Et  loca  muta  nocent ;  fugito  loca  conscia  vestri  726 
Concubitus  ;  causas  illa  doloris  habent. 

“  Hic  fuit,  hic  cubuit ;  thalamo  dormivimus  illo  : 

Hic  mihi  lasciva  gaudia  nocte  dedit.” 

Admonitu  refricatur  amor,  vulnusque  novatum 

Scinditur  :  infirmis  culpa  pusilla  nocet.  730 

Ut  paene  extinctum  cinerem  si  sulpure  tangas. 

Vivet  et  e  minimo  maximus  ignis  eifit. 

Sic,  nisi  vitaris  quidquid  renovabit  amorem. 

Flamma  redardescet,  quae  modo  nulla  fuit. 

Argolides  cuperent  fugisse  Capharea  puppes,  736 

Teque,  senex,  luctus  ignibus  ulte  tuos. 

Praeterita  cautus  Niseide  navita  gaudet  : 

Tu  loca  quae  nimium  grata  fuere,  cave. 

1  Althaea  caused  the  death  of  her  son  Meleager  by  burning  the 
brand  on  which  his  life  depended.  She  was  daughter  of  Thestius. 

2  Laodamia  revered  the  memory  of  her  husband  Protesilaus 
by  making  an  image  of  him ;  when  forbidden  to  do  this  by  her 
father  Acastus  she  burnt  herself  to  death. 

^  Caphareus  was  a  promontory  on  the  Argolic  coast  where 
Nauplius  showed  false  lights,  and  lured  Greek  vessels  returning 
from  Troy  to  destruction,  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  his  son 
226 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 

each  rival  might  have  seemed  fair  to  Paris,  but  each 
rival  compared  with  Venus  suffered  defeat.  Nor  com¬ 
pare  looks  alone,  but  character  and  accomplishments 
as  well ;  only  let  not  your  love  impede  your  judgment. 
My  next  point  is  a  small  one ;  but,  small  as  it  is,  it 
has  profited  many;  and  among  these  was  1.  Beware 
of  reading  again  the  treasured  letters  of  an  alluring 
mistress ;  letters  read  over  again  move  even  con¬ 
stant  minds.  Consign  them  all,  though  unwillingly, 
to  the  fierce  flames,  and  say,  “  Let  that  be  my 
passion’s  funeral  pyre.”  Thestias  burnt  in  the  brand 
her  absent  son :  ^  will  you  be  cowardly  in  burning- 
treacherous  words?  If  you  can,  get  rid  of  her 
pictures  also  :  why  does  a  mute  image  affect  you  ? 
in  this  way  Laodamia  perished.^  Mute  places  too 
are  harmful;  avoid  places  that  know  the  secret 
of  your  unions ;  they  hold  the  seeds  of  sorrow. 
“  Here  was  she,  here  she  lay ;  in  that  chamber 
did  we  sleep  ;  here  did  she  give  me  wanton  joys 
at  night.”  Love  brought  to  mind  is  stung  to  life, 
and  the  wound  is  rent  anew  :  to  the  weak  the 
smallest  error  is  hurtful.  Just  as  a  cinder  nearly 
spent  will  live,  if  you  touch  it  with  sulphur,  and 
from  a  small  become  a  mighty  fire,  so,  save  you 
shun  whate’er  may  renew  your  passion,  the  flame 
that  was  lately  naught  will  glow  once  more.  Fain 
would  the  Argive  vessels  have  shunned  Caphareus 
and  thee,  old  man,  who  with  fires  avenged  thy 
grief.  The  cautious  mariner  is  glad  when  Nisus’ 
daughter  is  passed  do  you  beware  of  spots  that 

Palamedes.  Nisus’  daughter,  i.e.,  Scylla,  the  famous  monster 
who  preyed  on  Ulysses’  crew  as  he  passed  between  her  and 
the  whirlpool  Charybdis.  But  the  monster  is  not  usually 
identified  with  Nisus’  daughter,  who  was  changed  into  a 
bird  called  “ciris”  (see  n.  on  1.  67),  though  the  former  too 
was  once  a  maiden. 


227 


OVID 


Haec  tibi  sint  Syrtes  :  haec  Acroceraunia  vita  : 

Hic  vomit  epotas  dira  Charybdis  aquas.  740 

Sunt  quae  non  possunt  aliquo  cogente  iuberi, 

Saepe  tamen  casu  facta  iuvare  solent. 

Perdat  opes  Phaedra,  parces,  Neptune,  ne])oti, 

Nec  faciet  pavidos  taurus  avitus  equos. 

Gnosida  fecisses  inopem,  sapienter  amasset  :  745 

Divitiis  alitur  luxuriosus  amor. 

Cur  nemo  est,  Hecalen,  nulla  est,  quae  ceperit  Iron.^ 
Nempe  quod  alter  egens,  altera  pauper  erat. 

Non  habet,  unde  suum  paupertas  pascat  amorem : 

Non  tamen  hoc  tanti  est,  pauper  ut  esse  velis.  760 
At  tanti  tibi  sit,  non  indulgere  theatris. 

Dum  bene  de  vacuo  pectore  cedat  amor. 

Enervant  animos  citharae  lotosque  lyraeque 
Et  vox  et  numeris  brachia  mota  suis. 

Illic  adsidue  ficti  saltantur  amantes  :  755 

Quid  caveas,  actor,  quid  iuvet,  arte  docet. 

Eloquar  invitus  :  teneros  ne  tange  poetas  ! 

Summoveo  dotes  ipsius  ipse  meas. 

Callimachum  fugito  ;  non  est  inimicus  Amori : 

Et  cum  Callimacho  tu  quoque,  Coe,  noces.  760 

Me  certe  Sappho  meliorem  fecit  amicae. 

Nec  rigidos  mores  Teia  Musa  dedit. 

Carmina  quis  potuit  tuto  legisse  Tibulli, 

Vel  tua,  cuius  opus  Cynthia  sola  fuit.^ 


^  Phaedra,  wife  of  Theseus,  fell  in  love  with  her  stepson 
Hippolytus,  and  then  falsely  accused  him  to  Theseus  of 
attempting  her  honour;  Theseus  called  on  his  father  Neptune 
to  punish  Hippolytus,  and  he  sent  a  sea-monster  to  frighten  the 
horses  of  the  youth,  who  was  killed  by  the  upsetting  of  the 
chariot.  ” Gnosida”:  Ariadne.  Hecale,  an  old  woman  who 
showed  kindness  to  Theseus.  Irus,  the  beggar  in  the  Odyssey. 

228 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


once  were  all  too  pleasant.  Let  these  be  your  Syrtes  : 
avoid  this  Acroceraunia :  here  dire  Charybdis  spews 
forth  the  water  she  has  swallowed. 

Some  things  there  are  that  no  order  can  compel, 
yet  happening  by  chance  they  often  help.  Let 
Phaedra  lose  her  wealth  :  Neptune,  you  will  spare 
your  grandson,  nor  will  his  grandsire’s  bull  alarm 
the  steeds.  Hadst  thou  made  the  Gnosian  poor, 
she  had  loved  wisely  :  wanton  love  is  fed  on  riches. 
Why  has  no  man  taken  Hecale,  no  woman  Irus  ?  ^ 
surely,  because  she  was  poor,  and  he  a  beggar. 
Poverty  has  no  means  to  feed  its  passion ;  yet  it 
is  not  w'orth  while  to  wish  to  be  poor  for  that. 
But  let  it  be  worth  while  to  abstain  from  theatres, 
until  love  ebb  quite  away  from  your  empty  heart. 
Zithers  and  flutes  and  lyres  enervate  the  mind,  and 
voices,  and  arms  that  move  to  their  own  rhythm. ^ 
There  constantly  in  the  dance  are  lovers  played  : 
the  actor’s  art  teaches  what  you  must  shun  and 
what  delights  you.  Unwillingly  I  speak :  touch 
not  the  poets  of  love ;  with  my  own  hand  I  take 
my  own  gifts  from  you.  Avoid  Callimachus :  he  is 
no  enemy  to  love ;  thou,  too,  O  Coan,^  with  Calli¬ 
machus  dost  harm.  Me  certainly  did  Sappho  make 
more  welcome  to  my  mistress,  nor  did  the  Muse  of 
Teos^  teach  me  strictness.  Who  could  have  read 
unscathed  the  songs  of  Tibullus,  or  thine  whose 
work  was  Cynthia  alone }  ®  Who  after  reading 

2  Dancing  to  the  ancients  was  as  much  an  affair  of  arms 
as  it  is  to  us  of  feet ;  it  meant  moving  the  whole  body,  and 
especially  the  arms,  rhythmically  and  expressively,  and 
often  a  character  or  a  story  was  represented  thereby. 

®  The  poet  Philetas. 

*  Anacreon. 

®  Propertius. 


229 


OVID 


Quis  poterit  lecto  durus  discedere  Gallo  ?  766 

Et  mea  nescio  quid  carmina  tale  sonant. 

Quod  nisi  dux  operis  vatem  frustratur  Apollo^ 

Aemulus  est  nostri  maxima  causa  mali  : 

At  tu  rivalem  noli  tibi  fingere  quemquam, 

Inque  suo  solam  crede  iacere  toro.  770 

Acrius  Hermionen  ideo  dii  exit  Orestes, 

Esse  quod  alterius  coeperat  illa  viri. 

Quid,  Menelae,  doles  ?  ibas  sine  coniuge  Creten, 

Et  poteras  nupta  lentus  abesse  tua. 

Ut  Paris  hanc  rapuit,  nunc  demum  uxore  carere  776 
Non  potes ;  alterius  crevit  amore  tuus. 

Hoc  et  in  abducta  Briseide  flebat  Achilles, 

Illam  Plisthenio  gaudia  fein-e  toro  ; 

Nec  frustra  flebat,  mihi  credite  ;  fecit  Atrides, 

Quod  si  non  faceret,  turpiter  esset  iners.  780 

Certe  ego  fecissem,  nec  sum  sapientior  illo  ; 

Invidiae  fructus  maximus  ille  fuit. 

Nam  sibi  quod  numquam  tactam  Briseida  iurat 
Per  sceptrum,  sceptrum  non  putat  esse  deos. 

Di  fiiciant,  possis  dominae  transire  relictae  786 

Limina,  proposito  sufficiantque  pedes. 

Et  poteris  ;  modo  velle  tene  ;  nunc  fortiter  ire. 

Nunc  opus  est  celeri  subdere  calcar  equo. 

Illo  Lotophagos,  illo  Sirenas  in  anti’O 

Esse  puta  ;  remis  adice  vela  tuis.  790 

Hunc  quoque,  quo  quondam  nimium  rivale  dolebas, 
Vellem  desineres  hostis  habere  loco. 

1  She  married  Neopthemus,  son  of  Achilles. 

2  i.e.,  of  Agamemnon,  according  to  one  legend  the  son  of 
Plisthenes.  Agamemnon  took  away  Briseis  from  Achilles ; 

230 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


Gallus  could  go  away  hard-hearted?  My  poems 
too  sound  somewhat  in  that  strain.  YeL  unless 
Apollo,  pi’ince  of  the  craft,  deceives  the  bard,  a 
rival  is  the  chief  cause  of  our  malady  ;  but  picture 
no  rival  to  yourself,  and  think  she  lies  on  her  couch 
alone.  The  more  ardently  did  Orestes  love  Her¬ 
mione,  that  she  had  begun  to  be  another’s.^  Why 
grievest  thou,  Menelaus?  thou  wentest  to  Crete 
without  a  consort,  and  wert  able  to  be  long  absent 
from  thy  bride.  Only  when  Paris  bore  her  off  art 
thou  unable  to  be  without  a  wife  :  twas  another  s 
love  that  fired  thine  own.  This  too  did  Achilles 
bewail  in  the  loss  of  Briseis,  that  she  should  give 
joy  to  the  Plisthenian^  couch;  nor  bewailed  he 
without  cause,  believe  me  :  Atrides  did  what  he  had 
been  a  shameful  sluggard  not  to  do.  Certainly  I 
would  have  done  it,  nor  am  I  wiser  than  he ;  that 
was  the  choicest  fruit  of  their  quarrel.  For  that  he 
swears  by  his  sceptre  that  Briseis  ne’er  was  touched, 
he  deems  not  his  sceptre  to  be  heaven.  May  the 
gods  grant  you  to  be  able  to  pass  by  the  threshold  of 
a  deserted  mistress,  and  may  your  feet  avail  for  your 
purpose!  Yes,  you  will  be  able;  only  let  your  will 
not  fail  :  now  must  your  course  be  courageous,  now 
spur  your  flying  steed.  Think  that  in  this  cave  there 
are  Lotophagi,  in  that  Sirens;®  let  sails  assist  your 
oars.  Him  too  Avhose  rivalry  once  pained  you  I  would 
have  you  cease  to  look  on  as  a  foe.  But  be  sure  to 

when  the  latter  refused  to  fight  for  the  Greeks  Agamemnon 
offered  to  give  her  back,  and  to  swear  he  had  not  touched 

her  ;  see  Horn.  H.  bks.  1  and  9.  x  i  u 

3  The  Lotus-eaters  and  Sirens  were  both  encountered  by 
Odysseus  in  his  wanderings  ;  the  former  lulled  into  forget¬ 
fulness,  the  latter  attracted  by  song  and  then  destroyed ;  tor 
the  latter  cf.  Ars  Am.  3.  311. 


231 


OVID 


At  certe,  quamvis  odio  remanente,  saluta  ; 

Oscula  cum  poteris  iam  dare,  sanus  eris. 

Ecce,  cibos  etiam,  medicinae  fungar  ut  omni  796 

Munere,  quos  fugias  quosque  sequare,  dabo. 

Daunius,  an  Libycis  bulbus  tibi  missus  ab  oris. 

An  veniat  Megaris,  noxius  omnis  erit. 

Nec  minus  erucas  aptum  vitare  salaces. 

Et  quicquid  veneri  corpora  nostra  parat.  800 

Utilius  sumas  acuentes  lumina  rutas, 

Et  quidquid  veneri  corpora  nostra  negat. 

Quid  tibi  praecipiam  de  Bacchi  munere,  quaeris  ? 

Spe  brevius  monitis  expediere  meis. 

Vhna  parant  animum  veneri,  nisi  plurima  sumas,  806 
Et  stupeant  midto  corda  sepulta  mero. 

Nutritur  vento,  vento  restinguitur  ignis  : 

Lenis  alit  flammas,  grandior  aura  necat. 

Aut  nulla  ebrietas,  aut  tanta  sit  ut  tibi  curas 

Eripiat ;  siqua  est  inter  utrumque,  nocet.  810 

Hoc  opus  exegi  ;  fessae  date  serta  carinae  ; 

Contigimus  portus,  quo  mihi  cursus  erat. 

Postmodo  reddetis  sacro  pia  vota  poetae. 

Carmine  sanati  femina  virque  meo. 


232 


THE  REMEDIES  OF  LOVE 


greet  him^  though  hatred  linger  yet ;  as  soon  as  you 
can  embrace  him,  you  are  healed. 

And  then  there  is  diet  too ;  that  I  may  perform 
all  a  physician’s  task,  I  will  tell  you  what  to 
take  and  what  to  shun.  Onions,  be  they  Daunian  ^ 
or  sent  from  Libyan  shores  or  come  they  from 
Megai’a,  all  are  harmful.  Nor  less  should  you  avoid 
salacious  rocket,  and  whatever  sets  our  bodies  in 
trim  for  Venus.  More  usefully  may  you  eat  rue 
that  sharpens  the  eyesight,  and  whatever  sets  our 
bodies  out  of  trim  for  Venus.  You  ask  what  is  my 
counsel  concerning  Bacchus’  gift  ?  sooner  than  you 
expect  will  you  be  quit  of  my  counselling.  Wine 
prepares  the  heart  for  love,  unless  you  take  o’ermuch 
and  your  spirits  are  dulled  and  drowned  by  too  much 
liquor.  By  wind  is  a  fire  fostered,  and  by  wind  ex¬ 
tinguished  ;  a  gentle  breeze  fans  the  flame,  a  strong 
breeze  kills  it.  Either  no  drunkenness,  or  so  much 
as  to  banish  care :  aught  between  these  two  is 
harmful. 

I  have  finished  my  task  ;  hang  garlands  on  the 
weary  vessel ;  the  haven  whither  my  course  was 
set  is  reached.  Soon  will  you  pay  your  dutiful 
vows  to  the  inspired  poet,  made  whole,  both  man 
and  woman,  by  my  song. 

1  i.e.,  Italian, 


233 


4a  jA'-'ts  aJ*  !  .  ^•^ii  ^fi'ut  ttvtfr 

.trt^  u,  r  i  *in  •  »»..  -  ^ 

‘r  •  K  y  :i  .  ^  ■<•■  : .  * 


*1'  --■■  ■  i  j  /  'Jf  j 

'>  -  ..i,»fj*-  ,  .V  K^/o*  fJs': 


■Hi 


►  ► 


•»  ■«•>  ’  .»"  •  ''ptr’-»  •  ■■  r-»»  •  I 

ijs;.  J-  .  4  r^‘-  •  '•I'l*'  t<> 

ifk ;■-* /3  _. .'  - '^‘V  ....i'-'.».  S 

•Af'-aiV#  I  <■,•  .,•■....  •■•,  ,  %J  „^^‘,4* 


I  ■''  ”<*.*«  r,i'  < 

**i-^  w  f" >•'•■“  i*"*  •*  ',»>'•  ■■ 

■;/;■•  ...I.  — 


S»  « i^VfH 

|-p  * 


V'T 


■' N  —  V  .  |V  .’t}f'. 


;><■''  •  /.■>  J.»  -  "r  .  ' 

Ui-  '•■  ■■  ■■:<'.■  I  ••  -u.  .■■■■•■  \trt~-.9Ji  r-'.f'i 

,H-i  ,  I  u  ,  j4  .  ■  •  :  i’-‘  '‘■r'.Vtfi  •■i>*>- ^  l/u*- 

>  *’  ■-  '  ‘.N-'  ’’'  4'^  ;.  ?*»i‘ '4*1  .'Jfll* 

■-  ' 


«'fTP  .••■.  i  . 


«.  . .  p;  .-lir 


p  .^1  ,, 

I’f  oitWhc,  tX’’ 

■  -I I  , ft  ■,”  ■•'pfi.'.  • 

^ijit»,.  ',  ’  '.‘^i'4  ^'’ip*  - 


'  '  ’’  V.  A'  •.  ‘,  r-v-  ’n"" 

U^*  <0  *’'*  'I  ut 

•T*  'J'  *.»•- 


ik--'  /‘'’’■■ 

tos'jf  V4..  .  -  *  t  *  ^ 


H*' 


A 

I*-.- 


.  w  »• 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


NUX 


Nux  ego  iuncta  viae  cum  sim  sine  crimine  vitae, 

A  populo  saxis  praetereunte  petor. 

Obruere  ista  solet  manifestos  poena  nocentes, 

Publica  cum  lentam  non  capit  ira  moram  ; 

Nil  ego  peccavi  nisi  si  peccare  docetur  5 

Annua  cultori  poma  referre  suo. 

At  prius  arboribus,  tum  cum  meliora  fuerunt 
Tempora,  certamen  fertilitatis  erat; 
l'um  domini  memores  sertis  ornare  solebant 

Agricolas  fructu  proveniente  deos  :  10 

Saepe  tuas  igitur,  Liber,  miratus  es  uvas. 

Mirata  est  oleas  saepe  Minerva  suas. 

Pomaque  laesissent  matrem,  nisi  subdita  ramo 
Longa  laboranti  furca  tulisset  opem  : 

Quin  etiam  exemplo  pariebat  femina  nostro,  15 

Nullaque  non  illo  tempore  mater  erat. 

At  postquam  platanis  sterilem  praebentibus  umbram 
Uberior  quavis  ai-bore  venit  honor. 

Nos  quoque  frugiferae  (si  nux  modo  polior  in  illis) 
Coepimus  in  patulas  luxuriare  comas.  20 

Nunc  neque  continuos  nascuntur  poma  per  annos. 
Uvaque  laesa  domum  laesaque  baca  venit ; 

N  une  uterum  vitiat  quae  volt  formosa  videri, 

Raraque  in  hoc  aevo  est  quae  velit  esse  parens. 

Certe  ego,  si  nunquam  peperissem,  tutior  essem  :  25 

Ista  Clytaemestra  digna  querela  fuit. 


10  agricolas  Heiiisius  (as  in  Tibullus  1. 
MS8. 

236 


1.  14,  etc.)  :  agricolae 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


I,  a  walnut  ti'ee,  hard  by  the  roadside,  though  my 
life  be  blameless,  yet  am  jielted  with  stones  by  the 
passing  folk.  ’Tis  flagrant  sinners  that  doom  is  wont 
to  overwhelm,  when  the  people’s  wrath  brooks  not 
slow  delay  :  in  naught  have  I  sinned,  unless  it  is 
taught  that  to  render  yearly  fruit  to  the  husband¬ 
man  is  a  sin.  But  of  old,  when  times  were  better, 
trees  vied  in  fruitfulness;  then  were  the  mindful 
owners  wont,  as  the  fruit  waxed  ripe,  to  adorn  with 
garlands  the  farmer-gods  ;  often,  therefore,  O  Liber, 
didst  thou  marvel  at  thy  grapes,  oft  did  Minerva 
marvel  at  her  olives,  and  the  apples  would  have 
hurt  the  mother  tree,  had  not  a  long  fork  placed 
beneath  the  labouring  bough  brought  succour :  nay, 
by  our  example  did  women  give  birth,  and  none  in 
those  times  was  not  a  mother.  But  since  more 
plenteous  honour  has  come  to  planes  that  yield  a 
sterile  shade,  than  to  any  tree,  we  fruit-bearers 
also  (if  as  a  nut  tree  I  am  counted  among  them) 
have  begun  to  luxuriate  in  spreading  foliage.  Now 
apples  grow  not  every  year,  and  injured  grapes  and 
injured  berries  are  brought  home  :  now  she  that 
would  seem  beautiful  harms  her  womb,  and  rare  in 
these  days  is  she  who  would  be  a  parent.  Certainly 
I  should  be  safer  had  I  never  borne ;  worthy  of 
Clytemnestra  was  that  complaint.^  Should  the  vine 

.  >  She  was  killed  by  Orestes,  her  own  offspring. 

237 


OVID 


Si  sciat  hoc  vitis,  nascentes  supprimet  uvas, 

Orbaque,  si  sciat  hoc,  Palladis  arbor  erit : 

Hoc  in  notitiam  veniat  maloque  piroque  : 

Destituent  silvas  utraque  poma  suas  :  30 

Audiat  hoc  cerasus,  bacas  exire  vetabit , 

Audiat  hoc  ficus,  stipes  inanis  erit. 

Non  equidem  invideo  :  numquid  tamen  ulla  feiitur 
Quae  sterilis  sola  conspicienda  coma  est  ? 

Cernite  sinceros  omnes  ex  ordine  truncos,  35 

Qui  modo  nil  quare  percutiantur  habent. 

At  mihi  saeva  nocent  mutilatis  vulnera  ramis, 

Nudaque  deiecto  cortice  ligna  patent. 

Non  odium  facit  hoc,  sed  spes  inducta  rapinae  : 

Sustineant  aliae  poma,  querentur  idem.  40 

Sic  reus  ille  fere  est  de  quo  victoria  lucro 
Esse  potest ;  inopis  vindice  facta  carent : 

Sic  timet  insidias  qui  se  scit  ferre  viator 
Cur  timeat ;  tutum  carpit  inanis  iter  : 

Sic  ego  sola  petor,  solam  quia  causa  petendi  est ,  45 

Frondibus  intactis  cetera  turba  viret. 

Nam  quod  habent  frutices  aliquando  proxima  nostris 
Fragmina,  quod  laeso  vimine  multa  iacent, 

Non  istis  sua  facta  nocent :  vicinia  damno  est ; 

Excipiunt  ictu  saxa  repulsa  meo  ;  50 

Idque  fide  careat,  si  non,  quae  longius  absunt 
Nativum  retinent  inviolata  decus. 

Ergo  si  sapiant  et  mentem  verba  sequantur. 

Devoveant  umbras  proxima  quaeque  meas. 

Quam  miserum  est,  odium  damnis  accedere  nostris  55 
Meque  ream  nimiae  proximitatis  agi ! 

32  Only  one  MS.  (F)  has  this  reading  ;  the  rest  have  “  audiat 
hoc  cerasus:  stipes  inaiiis  erit”  as  pentaiueter,  and  different 
lines  for  the  hexameter,  e.g.  “quaeque  sibi  vario  distinguit 
poma  colore  ”  (which  is  also  found  in  the  margin  of  F). 

238 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


know  this,  it  will  suppress  its  grapes  at  birth ;  and 
childless,  should  it  know  this,  will  be  the  tree  of 
Pallas.  Let  this  come  to  the  knowledge  of  apple 
or  of  pear :  their  orchards  will  be  bereft  of  either 
fruit :  should  the  cherry  hear  this,  it  will  forbid  its 
berries  to  push  forth  ;  should  the  fig  hear  this,  it 
will  be  a  barren  stump.  I  do  not  envy  them :  yet 
is  any  tree  struck  that  is  sterile,  and  admired  for  its 
leaves  alone?  Look  at  all  those  uninjured  trunks, 
that  have  no  reason  why  they  should  be  pelted. 
But  my  mutilated  boughs  are  hurt  by  cruel  wounds, 
and  my  wood  lies  bare  and  open  where  the  bark 
is  stripped  away.  ’Tis  not  hatred  does  this,  but 
the  hope  of  plunder  that  I  inspire ;  let  others  carry 
fruit,  they  will  make  the  same  complaint. 

So  is  he  generally  accused  whose  defeat  means 
gain ;  a  poor  man’s  deeds  escape  censure :  ^  so 
does  that  traveller  fear  an  ambush  who  knows 
that  what  he  bears  has  cause  for  tear ;  but  empty 
pockets  travel  safe :  so  am  I  alone  assailed,  be- 
eause  I  alone  give  cause  for  assault ;  the  rest 
are  verdant,  and  their  leaves  untouched.  For 
whereas  sometimes  trees  have  broken  fragments 
near  to  mine,  and  many  an  injured  branch  lies 
low,  ’tis  not  their  deeds  that  harm  them;  ’tis 
neighbourhood  brings  them  loss ;  they  receive  the 
stones  that  strike  me  and  rebound ;  and  that 
would  lack  credence  did  not  those  which  are 
furthest  away  retain  inviolate  their  native  glory. 
So,  could  they  think  and  words  follow  their  thought, 
all  the  nearest  would  execrate  my  shade.  How 
wretched  that  hate  should  be  added  to  my  loss, 
and  that  I  should  stand  trial  for  undue  proximity  ! 

^  Men  only  prosecute  when  they  have  something  to  gain 
by  it. 


239 


OVID 


Sed,  puto,  magna  mea  est  operoso  cura  colono  ! 

Inveniat,  dederit  quid  mihi  praeter  humum. 

Sponte  mea  facilis  contempto  nascor  in  agro, 

Parsque  loci,  qua  sto,  publica  paene  via  est.  60 

Me  sata  ne  laedam,  quoniam  et  sata  laedere  dicoi’. 

Imus  in  extremo  margine  fundus  habet. 

Non  mihi  falx  nimias  Saturnia  deputat  umbras. 

Duratam  renovat  non  mihi  fossor  humum  ; 

Sole  licet  siccaque  siti  peritura  laborem,  66 

Irriguae  dabitur  non  mihi  sulcus  aquae. 

At  cum  maturas  fisso  nova  cortice  rimas 
Nux  agit,  ad  partes  pertica  saeva  venit  ; 

Pertica  dat  plenis  inmitia  vulnera  ramis, 

Ne  possim  lapidum  verbera  sola  queri  :  70 

Poma  cadunt  mensis  non  interdicta  secundis 
Et  condit  lectas  parca  colona  nuces. 

Has  puer  aut  certo  rectas  dilaminat  ictu 
Aut  pronas  digito  bisve  semelve  petit. 

Quattuor  in  nucibus,  non  amplius,  alea  tota  est,  75 
Cum  sibi  suppositis  additur  una  tribus. 

Per  tabulae  clivum  labi  iubet  alter  et  optat 
Tangat  ut  e  multis  quaelibet  una  suam. 

Est  etiam,  par  sit  numerus  qui  dicat  an  impar. 

Ut  divinatas  auferat  augur  opes.  80 

Fit  quoque  de  creta,  qualem  caele.ste  figuram 
Sidus  et  in  Graecis  littera  quarta  gerit. 

1  Nuts  were  common  playthings  of  boys,  and  Ovid  mentions 
various  games  here  ;  but  there  is  no  very  clear  explanation  of 
11.  73,  4.  In  75,  6  the  idea  seems  to  be  building  a  castle  of 
three  nuts  with  a  fourth  on  top.  In  79,  80  it  is  guessing  “odd 
or  even,”  of  a  number  of  nuts  (cf.  Hor.  Sat,  2.  3.  248.). 

^  A  large  triangle  would  be  drawn  in  chalk,  and  lines  drawn 
within  it ;  a  nut  is  thrown,  so  as  not  to  go  outside  the  triangle 
(“quae  constitit  intus,”)  and  to  touch  as  many  lines  as  possible, 
the  prize  being  as  many  nuts  as  it  touches  lines.  If  “qui 

240 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


But  the  toilsome  husbandman,  I  ween,  takes  great 
thought  for  me  !  let  him  find  aught  he  has  given 
me  save  earth  alone.  Easily  and  freely  do  I  grow  on 
despised  ground,  and  that  part  of  the  place  where  I 
stand  is  almost  public  road.  Lest  1  harm  the  crops, 
for  I  am  even  said  to  harm  the  crops,  the  furthest 
and  extremest  limit  of  the  estate  receives  me. 
Saturn’s  sickle  prunes  not  my  superfluous  shade,  no 
digger  renews  my  hardened  soil ;  though  I  be  sick 
even  to  death  with  sun  and  parching  thirst,  I  shall 
be  given  no  rill  of  refreshing  water.  But  when  the 
new  nut  in  due  season  shows  chinks  in  its  splitting  rind 
thither  comes  the  cruel  rod ;  the  rod  inflicts  ruthless 
wounds  on  swelling  branches,  lest  I  be  able  to  com¬ 
plain  of  stones  alone  :  down  falls  my  fruit  that  is  not 
forbidden  to  dessert,  and  the  thrifty  housewife  stores 
the  collected  nuts.  These,  as  they  stand  upright, 
a  boy^  splits  with  certain  aim,  or,  as  they  lie  on 
their  side,  strikes  with  his  finger  once  or  twice.  In 
four  nuts,  and  no  more,  is  all  his  hazard,  when  one 
is  added  to  the  three  beneath  it.  Another  bids  them 
roll  down  a  sloping  board,  and  prays  that  one  out  of 
many,  whiche’er  it  be,  may  touch  his  own.  Then 
there  is  he  who  guesses  whether  the  number  be 
odd  or  even,  that  the  augur  may  bear  away  the 
wealth  he  has  divined.  Then  too  there  is  drawn 
in  chalk  a  shape  such  as  a  heavenly  constellation 
or  the  fourth  Greek  letter  bears.^  When  this  has 

constitit  .  .  .  virga  .  .  .  ipse  ”  be  read,  the  game  would  be 
for  a  boy  to  stand  inside  the  triangle  and  to  try  to  touch 
with  a  stick  as  many  nuts  as  possible  arranged  inside  it. 
The  references  in  11.  81-2  are  to  a  triangular  arrangement 
of  stars  above  the  head  of  the  constellation  Aries,  and  to  the 
Greek  Delta. 


241 


OVID 


Haec  ubi  distincta  est  gradibus,  quae  constitit  intus 
Quot  tetigit  virgas,  tot  capit  ipsa  nuces. 

Vas  quoque  saepe  cavum  spatio  distante  locatur,  85 
In  quod  missa  levi  nux  cadat  una  manu. 

Felix,  secreto  quae  nata  est  arbor  in  arvo 
Et  soli  domino  ferre  tributa  potest  ; 

Non  hominum  strepitus  audit,  non  illa  rotarum. 

Non  a  vicina  pulverulenta  via  est  :  90 

Illa  suo,  quaecunque  tulit,  dare  dona  colono 
Et  plenos  fructus  annumerare  potest. 

At  mihi  maturos  nunquam  licet  edere  fetus. 

Ante  diemque  meae  decutiuntur  opes. 

Lamina  mollis  adhuc  tenero  est  in  lacte,  quod  intra  est, 
Nec  mala  sunt  ulli  nostra  futura  bono  :  96 

lam  tamen  invenio  qui  me  iaculentur  et  ictu 
Praefestinato  munus  inane  petant. 

Si  fiat  rapti,  fiat  mensura  relicti, . 

Maiorem  domini  parte,  viator,  habes.  100 

Saepe  aliquis,  foliis  ubi  nuda  cacumina  vidit, 

Esse  putat  boreae  triste  furentis  opus  ; 

Aestibus  hic,  hic  me  spoliatam  frigore  credit ; 

Est  quoque,  qui  crimen  grandinis  esse  putet. 

At  mihi  nec  grando,  duris  invisa  colonis,  105 

Nec  ventus  fraudi  solve  geluve  fuit  : 

Fructus  obest,  peperisse  nocet,  nocet  esse  feracem. 
Quaeque  fuit  multis,  ei  mihi,  praeda  malo  est. 

Praeda  malo,  Polydore,  fuit  tibi,  praeda  nefandae 

Coniugis  Aonidum  misit  in  arma  virum.  110 

Hesperii  regis  pomaria  tuta  fuissent. 

Una  sed  inmensas  arbor  habebat  opes. 

84  virgas,  ipse  (also  “qui”  in  8.3)  vanous  editors',  virga  .  .  . 
ipsa  MSS. 

95  tenet  os  F :  tenero  est  G. 

242 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


been  marked  with  degrees,  the  nut  that  stops  within 
it  gains  itself  as  many  nuts  as  it  has  touched  lines. 
Often  too  a  hollow  vessel  is  placed  at  a  distance,  into 
which  a  nut  flung  by  a  skilful  hand  may  fall. 

Happy  the  tree  that  grows  in  a  secluded  field,  and 
can  pay  tribute  to  its  lord  alone  :  it  hears  not  the 
clamour  of  men  nor  the  rumble  of  wheels,  it  is  not 
dusty  from  the  neighbouring  road  ;  it  can  give 
whatsoever  it  bears  as  a  gift  to  its  own  husband¬ 
man,  and  reckon  its  produce  to  the  full.  But  I  may 
never  bring  forth  ripe  progeny,  and  my  wealth  is 
struck  off  before  its  prime.  My  skin  is  still  soft  with 
the  young  milk  that  is  within,  nor  are  my  ills  like  to 
be  anyone’s  good ;  yet  already  do  I  find  men  pelting 
me,  and  with  o’er-hasty  blows  seeking  a  vain  prize. 
If  account  were  taken  of  what  is  stolen,  and  of 
what  is  left,  wayfarer,  thou  hast  a  greater  share 
than  my  own  lord.  Often  someone,  seeing  my 
summit  bare  of  leaves,  deems  it  the  wmrk  of  furious 
Boreas ;  one  thinks  that  the  heat,  another  that  the 
frost,  has  robbed  me  ;  another  fancies  that  hailstoims 
are  to  blame.  But  neither  hail,  loathed  of  hardy 
husbandmen,  nor  wind  nor  sun  nor  frost  has  injured 
me  :  my  fruit  is  my  bane,  it  is  harmful  to  bear,  it  is 
harmful  to  be  fertile ;  gain,  which  has  hurt  many, 
has  hurt  me  too.  Gain  hurt  thee,  Polydorus ;  his 
wicked  consort’s  gain  sent  her  spouse  against  Aoniaii 
arms.  Safe  had  been  the  apple  orchards  of  the 
Hesperian  king,  but  one  tree  held  unbounded  wealth. 

^  Polydorus  was  a  son  of  Priam,  who  entrusted  him  to  the 
care  of  Polymestor,  king  of  the  Thracian  Chersonese,  with  a 
sum  of  money ;  Polymestor  killed  him  for  the  sake  of  the 
gold.  Eriphyle  was  bribed  by  the  gift  of  a  ne(Alace  to  send 
her  husband  Amphiaraus  to  the  war  against  Thebes,  ine 
garden  of  the  Hesperides  bore  trees  with  golden  fruit. 

R  2 


243 


OVID 


At  rubus  et  sentes  tantummodo  laedere  natae 
Spinaque  vindicta  cetera  tuta  sua  est. 

Me,  quia  nec  noceo  nec  obuncis  vindicor  hamis,  115 
Missa  petunt  avida  saxa  proterva  manu. 

Quid  si  non  aptas  solem  vitantibus  umbras, 

Finditur  Icario  cum  cane  terra,  darem  ? 

Quid  nisi  suffugium  nimbos  vitantibus  essem. 

Non  expectata  cum  venit  imber  aqua  ?  120 

Omnia  cum  faciam,  cum  praestem  sedula  cunctis 
Officium,  saxis  officiosa  petor. 

Haec  mihi  perpessae  domini  patienda  querela  est  : 
Causa  vocor,  quare  sit  lapidosus  ager ; 

Dumque  repurgat  humum  collectaque  saxa  remittit,  125 
Semper  habent  in  me  tela  parata  viae. 

Ergo  invisa  aliis  uni  mihi  frigora  prosunt  ; 

Illo  me  tutam  tempore  praestat  hiems. 

Nuda  quidem  tunc  sum,  nudam  tamen  expedit  esse. 
Non  spolium  de  me  quod  petat  hostis  habet.  130 

At  simul  induimus  nostris  sua  munera  ramis. 

Saxa  novos  fructus  grandine  plura  petunt. 

Forsitan  hic  aliquis  dicat  quae  publica  tangunt. 
Carpere  concessum  est :  hoc  via  iuris  habet.” 

Si  licet  hoc,  oleas  destringite,  caedite  messes  ;  135 

Improbe,  vicinum  carpe,  viator,  holus. 

Intret  et  Urbanas  eadem  petulantia  portas, 

Sitque  tuis  muris,  Romule,  iuris  idem  : 

Quilibet  argentum  prima  de  fronte  tabernae 

Tollat  et  ad  geminas  quilibet  alter  eat ;  140 

Auferat  hic  aurum,  peregrinos  ille  lapillos 
Et  quascimque  potest  tangere,  tollat  opes. 

Sed  neque  tolluntur  nec,  dum  regit  omnia  Caesar, 
Incolumis  tanto  praeside  raptor  erit. 


135  scilicet  MSS. :  si  licet  G  (first  hand)  and  edd. 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


But  brambles  and  briars,  born  only  to  hurt,  and 
other  thorns  are  safe  in  their  own  defence.  But  I, 
because  I  harm  not,  nor  am  protected  by  hooked 
nails,  am  pelted  by  wanton  stones  flung  by  greedy 
hands.  What  if  I  gave  not  timely  shade  to  those 
who  flee  the  sun  when  the  Icarian  dog  cracks  the 
ground?^  What  were  I  not  a  refuge  to  those  who 
shelter  from  storms,  when  comes  a  downfall  of 
unexpected  rain  ?  Though  I  do  all  this,  though  to 
all  I  perform  untiring  service,  for  all  my  service  I 
am  pelted  with  stones.  And  having  borne  this  I 
must  bear  the  complaining  of  my  master :  I  am  held 
the  cause  why  his  field  is  stony ;  and  while  he  clears 
the  ground  again,  and  collects  and  throws  back  the 
stones,  the  road  ever  has  weapons  ready  against  me. 
Therefore  the  cold  that  others  hate  is  useful  to  me 
alone  ;  in  that  season  winter  assures  my  safety.  Then 
indeed  am  I  naked,  yet  to  be  naked  is  an  advantage  ; 
I  have  no  spoil  to  tempt  an  enemy.  But  as  soon  as 
I  clothe  my  branches  with  their  bounty,  stones  more 
numerous  than  hail  are  aimed  at  the  new  fiuit. 
Perchance  someone  will  say  here  :  “  What  touches 

public  ground  it  is  right  to  pluck;  such  right  the 
road  can  claim."'  If  this  is  lawful,  strip  the  olives, 
cut  the  harvest;  pluck  neighbouring  cabbages,  in¬ 
satiable  wayfarer.  Let  the  same  impudence  even 
enter  the  City’s  gates,  and  suffer  your  walls,  Romulus, 
to  enjoy  the  same  privilege  :  let  anyone  take  silvei 
.from  a  shop-front,  and  his  friend  lay  hand  upon  the 
jewels :  let  one  steal  gold,  another  foreign  pearls, 
let  him  take  all  the  riches  he  can  find.  Yet  are 
they  not  so  pilfered,  nor,  while  Caesar  governs  the 
world,  will  a  robber  be  safe  under  so  mighty  a  prince. 

1  The  Dog-star,  supposed  to  be  Maera,  the  dog  of  Erigone, 
daughter  of  Icarius. 

245 


OVID 


At  non  ille  deus  pacem  intra  moenia  finit  :  146 

Auxilium  toto  spargit  in  orbe  suum. 

Quid  tamen  hoc  prodest^  media  si  luce  palamque 
Verberor  et  tutae  non  licet  esse  nuci  ? 

Ergo  nec  nidos  foliis  haerere  nec  ullam 

Sedibus  in  nostris  stare  videtis  avem.  150 

At  lapis  in  ramo  sedit  quicunque  bifurco 
Haeret,  et  ut  capta  victor  in  arce  manet. 

Cetera  saepe  tamen  potuere  admissa  negari, 

Et  crimen  nox  est  infitiata  suum  : 

Nostra  notat  fusco  digitos  iniuria  suco  156 

Cortice  contactas  inficiente  manus. 

Ille  eruor  meus  est,  illo  maculata  cruore 
Non  profectura  dextra  lavatur  aqua. 

O,  ego,  cum  longae  venerunt  taedia  vitae. 

Optavi  quotiens  arida  facta  mori  !  160 

Optavi  quotiens  aut  caeco  turbine  verti 
Aut  valido  missi  fulminis  igne  peti  ! 

Atque  utinam  subitae  raperent  mea  poma  procellae. 

Vel  possem  fructus  excutere  ipsa  meos  ! 

Sic,  ubi  detracta  est  a  te  tibi  causa  pericli,  165 

Quod  superest  tutum,  Pontice  castor,  habes. 

Quid  mihi  tunc  animi  est,  ubi  sumit  tela  viator 
Atque  oculis  plagae  destinat  ante  locum  ? 

Nec  vitare  licet  moto  fera  volnera  trunco. 

Quem  sub  humo  radix  curvaque  vincla  tenent.  170 
Corpora  praebemus  plagis  ut  saepe  sagittis 
Quem  populus  manicas  deposuisse  vetat, 

Utve  gravem  candens  ubi  tolli  vacca  securim 
Aut  stringi  cultros  in  sua  colla  videt. 

246 


the  walnut-tree 

But  that  god  confines  not  peace  within  ci^  walls; 
he  sends  forth  his  aid  to  all  the  world.  Yet  what 

does  this  avail,  if  openly  in  broad  f 

and  if  a  nut  tree  may  not  be  safe  ?  Iheietoie  you 

see  neither  nests  clinging  to  my  “ 

pe-ching  upon  my  resting-places.  But  any  stone 
£fha!  wedged  "in  «  forked  '■-gl.  -  «-d,  and 
abides  like  a  conqueror  in  ^  .Jed 

other  crimes  when  committed  can  ^  ’ 

:?d  night  disavows  her  guilty  d«d  ^ 
me  marks  the  fingers  with  dark  ju.ee 
Stains  the  hands  that  touch  it.  That  is  my  blooa  . 
the  hand  that  blood  has  tainted  is  Jfe"’ 

water.  Ah  !  how  oft  grown  weary  of  my  lo.  „  Me, 
have  I  wished  to  wither  up  and  die  !  How  ott  nave 

I  wished,  either  to  be  uprooted  by  a 

nv  to  be  struck  by  the  strong  flame  of  a  hulled 

Lid^^y:  that  a  sudden  ftorm  woj^ 

T  k’’  o7S  my  nuts  ™  So,  when  the  cause  of  thy 
shake  off  all  my  o  Pontic  beaver,  thou 

siiiiBSs 

1  The  heaver  Jet  ^of viz.  his 

SS,  whKIcrfecl  an  oil'much  used  by  the  ancients  m 
midwifery.  247 


OVID 


Saepe  meas  vento  frondes  tremuisse  putastis,  175 

Sed  metus  in  nobis  causa  tremoris  erat. 

Si  merui  videorque  nocens,  imponite  flammae 
Nostraque  fumosis  urite  membra  focis  : 

Si  merui  videorque  nocens,  excidite  ferro 

Et  liceat  miserae  dedoluisse  semel.  180 

Si  nec  cur  urar  nec  cur  excidar  habetis. 

Parcite  :  sic  coeptum  perficiatis  iter. 

180  dedoluisse  Heinsiiis  :  dedecus  esse  MSS. 


248 


THE  WALNUT-TREE 


my  leaves  were  trembling  in  the  wind,  but  fear  was 
the  cause  of  my  trembling.  If  I  have  deserved  it, 
and  am  judged  guilty,  put  me  on  the  fiie,  and  bum 
my  limbs  on  smoky  hearths  ;  if  I  have  deserved  it, 
and  am  judged  guilty,  cut  me  down  with  the  steel, 
and  let  my  wretchedness  once  for  all  have  an  end. 
If  ye  have  no  cause  for  burning  or  for  cutting  down, 
spare  me;  so  may  ye  finish  the  journey  ye  have 
begun. 


249 


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IBIS 


IBIS 


Tempus  ad  hoc,  lustris  bis  iam  mihi  quinque  peractis. 
Omne  fuit  Musae  carmen  inerme  meae ; 

Nullaque,  quae  possit,  scriptis  tot  milibus,  extat 
Littera  Nasonis  sanguinolenta  legi : 

Nec  quemquam  nostri  nisi  me  laesere  libelli,  6 

Artificis  periit  cum  caput  Arte  sua. 

Unus  (et  hoc  ipsum  est  iniuria  magna)  perennem 
Candoris  titulum  non  sinit  esse  mei. 

Quisquis  is  est  (nam  nomen  adhuc  utcumque  tacebo). 
Cogit  inassuetas  sumere  tela  manus.  10 

Ille  relegatum  gelidos  aquilonis  ad  ortus 
Non  sinit  exilio  delituisse  meo; 

Vulneraque  inmitis  requiem  quaerentia  vexat, 
lactat  et  in  toto  nomina  nostra  foro ; 

Perpetuoque  mihi  sociatam  foedere  lecti  15 

Non  patitur  vivi  funera  flere  viri. 

Cumque  ego  quassa  meae  complectar  membra  carinae. 
Naufragii  tabulas  pugnat  habere  mei : 

Et  qui  debuerat  subitas  extinguere  flammas. 

Hic  praedam  medio  raptor  ab  igne  petit.  20 

Nititur,  ut  profugae  desint  alimenta  senectae  : 

Heu  !  quanto  est  nostris  dignior  ipse  malis  ! 

Di  melius  !  quorum  longe  mihi  maximus  ille  est, 

Qui  nostras  inopes  noluit  esse  vias. 

Huic  igitur  meritas  grates,  ubicumque  licebit,  25 

Pro  tam  mansueto  pectore  semper  agam. 


252 


^  He  refers  to  the  Ars  Amoris. 


IBIS 


Up  to  this  time,  when  I  have  already  completed 
fifty  years,  all  the  song  of  my  Muse  has  been  harm¬ 
less  ;  and  not  a  letter  of  Naso,  who  wrote  so  many 
thousands,  exists  to  be  read  that  is  stained  with 
blood  ;  nor  have  my  writings  hurt  anyone  save  me, 
when  his  own  Art  proved  the  artist  s  bane.^  One 
man 2  (and  this  is  itself  a  mighty  wrong)  suffers  not 
my  title  to  innocence  to  endure.  Whoever  he  is 
(for  so  far  as  I  can  I  shall  yet  be  silent  of  his  name), 
he  compels  my  unaccustomed  hands  to  take  up 
arms.  He  suffers  me  not,  though  banished  to  the 
North  wind’s  icy  birthplace,  to  lie  hidden  in  my 
exile;  cruelly  he  vexes  the  wounds  that  crave  re¬ 
pose,  and  shouts  my  name  in  all  the  Forum,  nor 
allows  her  who  is  joined  to  me  in  the  perpetual 
union  of  the  marriage-bed  to  weep  for  her  husband  s 
livin'^'  corpse.  And  while  I  embrace  the  shatteied 
fragments  of  my  bai-k,  he  fights  to  possess  my 
shipwrecked  planks ;  and  he  who  ought  to  have 
extinguished  the  sudden  flames  seeks  plunder  like 
a  robber  from  the  midst  of  the  fire.  He  strives 
that  my  exiled  old  age  may  lack  sustenance :  ah  . 
how  much  worthier  is  he  himself  of  my  dis^ess  ! 
May  the  gods  forbid !  of  whom  the  greatest  far  is 
he,  who  would  not  have  my  voyage  destitute.®  To 
him,  therefore,  will  I  render  merited  thanks,  always 
wherever  I  may,  for  his  so  kindly  heart.  Let 

*  See  Introduction,  p.  x.  ®  i-e.  Augustus. 

253 


OVID 


Audiat  hoc  Pontus  ;  faciet  quoque  forsitan  idem, 

Terra  sit  ut  proj^ior  testificanda  mihi. 

At  tibi,  calcasti  qui  me,  violente,  iacentem, 

Qua  licet  ei  misero  !  debitus  hostis  ero.  30 

Desinet  esse  prius  contrarius  ignibus  umor, 
lunctaque  cum  luna  lumina  solis  erunt; 

Parsque  eadem  caeli  zephyros  emittet  et  euros. 

Et  tepidus  gelido  flabit  ab  axe  notus ; 

Et  nova  fraterno  veniet  concordia  fumo,  35 

Quem  vetus  accensa  separat  ira  pyra ; 

Et  ver  autumno,  brumae  miscebitur  aestas, 

Atque  eadem  regio  vesper  et  ortus  erit ; 

Quam  mihi  sit  tecum  positis,  quae  sumpsimus,  armis 


Gratia,  commissis,  improbe,  rupta  tuis.  40 

Pax  erit  haec  nobis,  donec  mihi  vita  manebit,  43 

Cum  pecore  infirmo  quae  solet  esse  lupis. 

Prima  quidem  coepto  committam  proelia  versu,  45 
Non  soleant  quamvis  hoc  pede  bella  geri : 

Utque  petit  primo  plenum  flaventis  harenae 
Nondum  calfacti  militis  hasta  solum. 

Sic  ego  te  nondum  ferro  iaculabor  acuto. 

Protinus  invisum  nec  petet  hasta  caput ;  50 


Et  neque  nomen  in  hoc  nec  dicam  facta  libello, 

Teque  brevi,  qui  sis,  dissimulare  sinam. 

Postmodo,  si  perges,  in  te  mihi  liber  iambus 
Tincta  Lycambeo  sanguine  tela  dabit. 

^  The  brothers  Eteocles  and  Polynices,  sons  of  Oedipus,  slew 
each  other  in  single  combat,  and  so  bitter  was  their  hate  that 
even  the  flames  of  the  pyre  on  which  their  bodies  were  burnt 
would  not  join  together. 

^  This  couplet  is  placed  by  some  editors  after  11.  3.3,  34,  as 
being  more  akin  in  sense  than  11.  35,  36. 

®  The  couplet  (11.  41,  42)  omitted  here  is  the  same  as  11.  133, 
134,  and  has  evidently  been  inserted  in  error.  It  is  not  found 
in  two  MSS.  (GP).  After  1.  44  Housman  would  insert  11. 1,35—140. 

254 


IBIS 


Pontus  hear  these  words  :  perchance  too  that  same 
power  will  cause  a  nearer  land  to  be  called  by  me 
to  witness.  But  thou,  thou  man  of  blood,  who 
didst  spurn  me  fallen,  where  er  I  may,  thou  wretch, 

1  shall  be  thy  devoted  foe.  Sooner  shall  moisture 
cease  to  be  opposed  to  fire,  and  the  sun’s  light  be 
joined  to  the  moon;  the  same  part  of  heaven 
shall  send  forth  western  winds  and  eastern,  and 
the  warm  south  blow  from  the  cold  sky ;  a  strange 
concord  shall  unite  the  brothers’  smoke,  which 
ancient  anger  separates  on  the  kindled  pyre ;  ^ 
sooner  shall  spring  mingle  with  autumn,  or  summer 
with  midwinter,  and  the  same  region  be  both  even¬ 
ing  and  sunrise,^  than  the  arms  that  we  took  up 
be  laid  aside,  and  between  thee  and  me,  shameless 
wretch,  there  be  that  friendship  which  thy  crime 
sundered.3  That  peace  shall  we  enjoy,  while  life 
remains  to  me,  which  wolves  are  wont  to  keep  with 
the  defenceless  flock.  First  will  I  join  battle  in  the 
measure  I  have  begun,  although  wars  are  not  wont 
to  be  waged  in  this  strain ;  *  and  as  the  spear  ot 
the  soldier  who  is  not  yet  fired  to  battle  first 
attacks  the  yellow,  sandy  soil,  so  wdll  1  not  yet 
shoot  at  thee  with  sharpened  steel,  nor  shall  my 
javelin  seek  forthwith  thy  hateful  life;  and  no 
name  nor  deeds  shall  I  mention  in  this  work,  and 
I  will  suffer  thee  easily  to  dissemble  who  thou  art. 
Afterwards,  if  thou  dost  continue,  my  satire  un¬ 
restrained  shall  hurl  at  thee  missiles  tinged  by 


*  The  elegiac  metre  was  not  usually  the  metre  of  satire 
or  attack  ;  that  was  the  iambic  metre,  in  winch  Archi¬ 
lochus  (fl.  700  B.c.)  attacked  Lycambes  and  his  daughters 
with  such  effect  that  Neobule,  whom  Lycambes  had 
promised  to  the  poet  and  then  refused,  took  her  own 

^55 


OVID 


Nunc  quo  Battiades  inimicum  devovet  Ibin,  65 

Hoc  ego  devoveo  teque  tuosque  modo. 

Utque  ille,  historiis  involvam  carmina  caecis  ; 

Non  soleam  quamvis  hoc  genus  ipse  sequi. 

Illius  ambages  imitatus  in  Ibide  dicar 

Oblitus  moris  iudiciique  mei.  00 

Et  quoniam,  qui  sis,  nondum  quaerentibus  edo. 

Ibidis  interea  tu  quoque  nomen  habe  ; 

Utque  mei  versus  aliquantum  noctis  habebunt. 

Sic  vitae  series  tota  sit  atra  tuae. 

Haec  tibi  natali  facito,  lanique  kalendis  65 

Non  mentituro  quilibet  ore  legat. 

'  Di  maris  et  terrae,  quique  his  meliora  tenetis 
Inter  diversos  cum  love  regna  polos. 

Huc,  precor,  huc  vestras  omnes  advertite  mentes. 

Et  sinite  optatis  pondus  inesse  meis  :  70 

Ipsaque  tu  Tellus,  ipsum  cum  fluctibus  aequor. 

Ipse  meas  aether  accipe  summe  preces ; 

Sideraque  et  radiis  circumdata  solis  imago. 

Lunaque,  quae  numquam  quo  prius  orbe  micas. 
Noxque  tenebrarum  specie  reverenda  tuarum ;  75 

Quaeque  ratum  triplici  pollice  netis  opus. 

Quique  per  infernas  horrendo  murmure  valles 
Inperiuratae  laberis  amnis  aquae. 

Quasque  ferunt  torto  vittatis  angue  capillis 

Carceris  obscuras  ante  sedere  fores ;  80 

Vos  quoque,  plebs  superum,  Fauni  Satyrique  Laresque 
Fluminaque  et  nymphae  semideumque  genus  : 
Denique  ab  antiquo  divi  veteresque  novique 
In  nostrum  cunpti  tempus,  adeste,  chao, 

256 


IBIS 


Lycambean  blood.  Now,  in  such  wise  as  Battiades 
calls  curses  down  on  his  enemy  Ibis,  so  do  I  call 
curses  down  on  thee  and  thine.  Like  him  I  will 
enshroud  my  song  in  doubtful  story,  although  I  am 
not  wont  to  pursue  this  style.  His  riddlings  shall 
I  be  said  to  have  imitated,  forgetful  of  my  judg¬ 
ment  and  my  custom.  And  because  I  reveal  not 
yet  to  those  who  ask  me,  who  thou  art,  bear  thou 
also  meanwhile  the  name  of  Ibis ;  and  just  as  my 
lines  have  something  of  the  dark,  so  let  thy  own 
life’s  series  all  be  black.  Be  this  what  he  offers 
thee  upon  thy  birthday  and  upon  Janus’  Kalends,^ 
whosoever  reads  with  lips  that  shall  not  lie. 

Gods  of  land  and  sea,  and  ye  who  hold  with  Jove 
a  better  realm  than  these  between  the  sundered 
poles,  hither,  I  pray,  turn  hither  all  of  you  your 
minds,  and  allow  weight  to  my  desires :  and  thou 
thyself,  O  Earth,  and  thyself,  O  Sea  with  thy 
waves,  and  thyself,  O  supreme  Air,  hear  my 
petition ;  ye  coirstellations,  too,  and  the  sun’s  ray- 
encircled  image,  and  thou  Moon  that  never  shinest 
with  the  orb  thou  hadst  before,  and  Night,  awful 
in  the  beauty  of  thy  shadows;  and  ye  who  with 
triple  thumb  sj)in  your  appointed  task,  and  thou 
river  of  unperjured  water,  that  with  roar  terrific 
flowest  through  the  infernal  vales,  and  ye  who,  as 
they  tell,  your  tresses  bound  by  twisted  serpents, 
sit  before  the  dim  prison  gates,  ye  too,  the  host 
of  gods  above.  Fauns,  Satyrs,  Lars,  streams  and 
nymphs,  and  the  race  of  demigods:  gods  lastly 
old  and  new  from  ancient  chaos  down  to  our  own 
time,  be  present  all,  while  dreadful  spells  are 

1  Instead  of  good  wishes,  usual  on  these  days,  he  must 
bring  him  Ovid’s  poem. 

257 

s 


OVID 


Carmina  dum  capiti  male  fido  dira  canuntur  85 

Et  peragunt  pai'tes  ira  dolorque  suas. 

Adnuite  optatis  omnes  ex  ordine  nostris^ 

Et  pars  sit  voti  nulla  caduca  mei. 

Quaeque  precor,  fiant :  ut  non  mea  dicta,  sed  illa 

Pasiphaes  generi  verba  fuisse  putet.  90 

Quasque  ego  transiero  poenas,  patiatur  et  illas ; 

Plenius  ingenio  sit  miser  ille  meo  ! 

Neve  minus  noceant  fictum  execrantia  nomen 
Vota,  minus  magnos  commoveantve  deos  : 

Illum  ego  devoveo,  quem  mens  intellegit,  Ibin,  96 
Qui  scit  se  factis  has  meruisse  preces. 

Nulla  mora  est  in  me  :  peragam  rata  vota  sacerdos. 

Quisquis  ades  sacris,  ore  favete,  meis ; 

Quisquis  ades  sacris,  lugubria  dicite  verba. 

Et  hetu  madidis  Ibin  adite  genis :  100 

Ominibusque  malis  pedibusque  occurrite  laevis. 

Et  nigrae  vestes  corpora  vestra  tegant ! 

Tu  quoque,  quid  dubitas  ferales  sumere  vittas  ? 

lam  atat,  ut  ipse  vides,  funeris  ara  tui. 

Pompa  parata  tibi  est ;  votis  mora  tristibus  absit :  105 

Da  iugulum  cultris,  hostia  dira,  meis. 

Terra  tibi  fruges,  amnis  tibi  deneget  undas. 

Deneget  athatus  ventus  et  aura  suos. 

Nec  tibi  sol  calidus,  nec  sit  tibi  lucida  Phoebe, 

Destituant  oculos  sidera  clara  tuos.  110 

Nec  se  Vulcanus,  nec  se  tibi  praebeat  aer. 

Nec  tibi  det  tellus  nec  tibi  pontus  iter. 

^  Theseus,  lover  of  Ariadne,  daughter  of  Minos  and  Pasiphae, 
who  uttered  dreadful  threats  against  Hippolytus. 

2  “ore  favere”  means  “to  speak  no  word  inappropriate  to 
the  rites  in  progress”;  if  the  occasion  is  joyful,  to  speak  no 
gloomy  word,  if  angry  or  mournful,  to  speak  no  cheerful  one. 

258 


IBIS 


chanted  against  that  faithless  head^  and  grief  and 
anger  play  their  parts.  Give  assent  all  in  turn  to 
my  desires,  and  let  no  part  of  my  supplication  fall ! 
And  what  I  pray,  may  that  be  done  :  so  that  he 
deem  them  not  my  sayings,  but  the  words  of 
the  lover  of  Pasiphae’s  daughter.^  And  whatever 
penalties  I  pass  by,  may  he  suffer  those  as  well ; 
let  him  be  richer  in  misery  than  my  wit  can  con¬ 
ceive  !  Nor  may  vows  that  doom  a  feigned  name 
to  perdition  be  less  strong  to  harm,  or  move  less 
powerful  gods :  that  Ibis  do  I  execrate  whom 
the  mind  understands,  who  knows  that  his  deeds 
have  mei-ited  these  curses.  1  am  in  no  mood  to 
tarry  :  as  priest  I  will  fulfil  the  appointed  prayers. 
Whosoever  thou  art  that  attendest  at  my  rite, 
suit  thy  speech  thereto ;  ^  whosoever  thou  art  that 
attendest  at  the  rite,  utter  Avords  of  woe,  and  draw 
near  to  Ibis  with  tear-moistened  cheeks ;  meet 
him  with  evil  omens  and  with  left  feet  foremost, 
and  let  black  raiment  hide  your  bodies  !  Thou  too,^ 
Avhy  dost  thou  hesitate  to  assume  the  garb  of  Avoe  ? 
Already  thy  funeral  altar  is  set  up,  as  thou  dost 
see  thyself.  The  pi'ocession  is  ready  for  thee ;  let 
not  my  prayers  be  delayed ;  offer  thy  throat,  O 
fearful  victim,  to  my  knife. 

May  the  earth  refuse  thee  her  fruits  and  the 
river  his  waters,  may  Avind  and  breeze  deny  their 
breath.  May  the  sun  not  be  Avarm  for  thee,  nor 
Phoebe  bright,  may  the  clear  stars  fail  thy  vision. 
May  neither  Vulcan  nor  the  air  lend  thee  their  aid, 
nor  earth  nor  sea  afford  thee  any  path.  Mayst 

®  i.e.  the  victim,  against  whom  the  solemn  ritual  of 
execration  Avas  aboxit  to  be  performed.  The  ciu’ses  follow, 
ff.  107  sqq. 


s  2 


259 


OVID 


Exui,  inops  erres,  alienaque  limina  lustres. 

Exiguumque  petas  ore  tremente  cibum. 

Nec  corpus  querulo,  nec  mens  vacet  aegra  dolore,  115 
Noxque  die  gravior  sit  tibi,  nocte  dies. 

Sisque  miser  semper,  nec  sis  miserabilis  ulli : 

Gaudeat  adversis  femina  virque  tuis. 

Accedat  lacrimis  odium,  dignusque  puteris. 

Qui  mala  cum  tuleris  plurima,  plura  feras.  120 

Sitque,  quod  est  rarum,  solito  defecta  favore 
Fortunae  facies  invidiosa  tuae. 

Causaque  non  desit,  desit  tibi  copia  mortis  : 

Optatam  fugiat  vita  coacta  necem  : 

Luctatusque  diu  cruciatos  spiritus  artus  125 

Deserat,  et  longa  torqueat  ante  mora. 

Evenient,  dedit  ipse  mihi  modo  signa  futuri 
Phoebus,  et  a  laeva  maesta  volavit  avis. 

Certe  ego,  quae  voveo,  superos  motura  putabo. 

Speque  tuae  mortis,  perfide,  sem})er  alar.  130 

Et  prius  hanc  animam,  nimium  tibi  saepe  petitam. 
Auferet  illa  dies,  quae  mihi  sera  venit. 

Quam  dolor  hic  umquam  spatio  evanescere  possit. 
Leniat  aut  odium  tempus  et  hora  meum. 

Pugnabunt  arcu  dum  Thraces,  Iazyges  hasta,  135 

Dum  tepidus  Ganges,  frigidus  Hister  erit; 

Robora  dum  montes,  dum  mollia  pabula  campi, 

Dum  Tiberis  liquidas  Tuscus  habebit  aquas, 

Tecum  bella  geram ;  nec  mors  mihi  finiet  iras, 

Saeva  sed  innocuis  manibus  arma  dabit. 

260 


140 


IBIS 


thou  wander  an  exile  and  destitute,  and  haunt  the 
doors  of  others,  and  beg  a  little  food  with  trembling 
mouth.  May  neither  thy  body  nor  thy  sick  mind  be 
free  from  querulous  pain,  may  night  be  to  thee  more 
grievous  than  day,  and  day  than  night.  Mayst  thou 
ever  be  piteous,  but  have  none  to  pity  thee ;  may 
men  and  women  rejoice  at  thy  adversity.  May 
hatred  crown  thy  tears,  and  mayst  thou  be  thought 
worthy,  having  borne  many  ills,  to  bear  yet  more. 
And  (what  is  rare)  may  the  aspect  of  thy  fortune, 
though  its  wonted  favour  be  lost,  bring  thee  but 
ill-will.  Mayst  thou  have  cause  enough  for  death, 
but  no  means  of  dying;  may  thy  life  be  compelled 
to  shun  the  death  it  prays  for.  May  thy  spirit 
struggle  long  ere  it  leave  thy  tortured  limbs,  and 
rack  thee  first  with  long  delaying. 

These  things  shall  be.  Phoebus  himself  of  late 
gave  me  signs  of  the  future,  and  a  bird  of  sorrow 
flew  from  the  left.^  Surely,  may  I  think  that  my 
prayers  will  move  the  gods,  and  ever,  treacherous 
one,  will  I  feed  on  the  hope  of  thy  death.  And 
sooner  will  that  late-arriving  day  deprive  me  of 
the  life  too  oft  assailed  by  thee,  than  age  ever 
cause  this  resentment  of  mine  to  fail,  or  length 
of  time  appease  my  hate.  While  Thracians  fight 
with  the  bow  and  lazygians  with  the  spear,  while 
Ganges  is  warm  and  Danube  cold,  while  oaks  are 
on  the  mountains  and  lush  pasture  on  the  plains, 
while  Tuscan  Tiber  holds  running  waters,  I  shall 
w'age  war  with  thee  ;  nor  shall  death  end  my 
wrath,  but  give  fierce  weapons  to  my  innocuous 

'  The  left  is  used  here  in  the  Greek  sense  of  being  the 
unlucky  side ;  Ovid  rejoices  that  the  omens  should  be 
unlucky  (for  Ibis). 


261 


OVID 


Tunc  quoquCj  cum  fuero  vacuas  dilapsus  in  auras, 
Exanimis  mores  oderit  umbra  tuos, 

Tunc  quoque  factorum  veniam  memor  umbra  tuorum, 
Insequar  et  vultus  ossea  forma  tuos. 

Sive  ego,  quod  nollem,  longis  consumptus  ab  annis,  145 
Sive  manu  facta  morte  solutus  ero  : 

Sive  per  inmensas  iactabor  naufragus  undas, 

Nostraque  longinquus  viscera  piscis  edet : 

Sive  peregrinae  carpent  mea  membra  volucres  : 

Sive  meo  tinguent  sanguine  rostra  lupi :  160 

Sive  aliquis  dignatus  erit  subponere  terrae 
Et  dare  plebeio  corpus  inane  rogo ; 

Quidquid  ero,  Stygiis  erumpere  nitar  ab  oris. 

Et  tendam  gelidas  ultor  in  ora  manus. 

Me  vigilans  cernes,  tacitis  ego  noctis  in  umbris  155 
Excutiam  somnos  visus  adesse  tuos. 

Denique  quidquid  ages,  ante  os  oculosque  volabo 
Et  querar,  et  nulla  sede  quietus  eris. 

^^e^■bera  torta  dabunt  sonitum  nexaeque  colubrae. 

Conscia  fumabunt  semper  ad  ora  faces.  160 

His  vivus  furiis  agitabere,  mortuus  isdem. 

Et  brevior  poena  vita  futura  tua  est. 

Nec  tibi  continget  funus  lacrimaeque  tuorum ; 
Indeploratum  proiciere  caput ; 

Carnificisque  manu,  populo  plaudente,  traheris,  165 
Infixusque  tuis  ossibus  uncus  erit. 

Ipsae  te  fugient,  quae  carpunt  omnia,  flammae ; 

Respuet  invisum  iusta  cadaver  humus. 

Unguibus  et  rostro  crudus  trahet  ilia  vultur 

Et  scindent  avidi  perfida  corda  canes,  170 

169  crudus  Reinsius  :  tardus  M8S. 

263 


IBIS 


ghost.  Then  also  when  I  shall  be  scattered  into 
tenuous  air  my  lifeless  shade  shall  detest  thy 
ways ;  then  too  shall  1  come,  a  shade  that  forgets 
not  thy  deeds,  and  in  bony  shape  shall  1  assail  thy 
face.  Whether  I  am  consumed  (as  I  fain  would  not 
be)  by  length  of  years,  or  undone  by  a  self-sought 
death ;  whether  I  am  tossed  in  shipwreck  o’er  un¬ 
measured  waters,  and  the  outlandish  fish  devours 
my  flesh ;  whetlier  foreign  fowl  prey  upon  my 
limbs,  or  wolves  stain  their  jaws  with  my  blood  ; 
whether  someone  deign  to  put  my  lifeless  corpse 
beneath  the  earth,  or  to  set  it  upon  a  common 
pyre :  whatever  I  shall  be,  I  shall  strive  to  burst 
forth  from  the  Stygian  realm,  and  shall  stretch 
forth  icy  hands  in  vengeance  against  thy  face. 
Waking  thou  shalt  behold  me,  in  the  silent  shadows 
of  the  night  I  shall  appear  before  thee  and  drive 
away  thy  slumbers.  Finally,  whatever  thou  dost  I 
shall  hover  before  thine  eyes  and  countenance,  and 
make  complaint,  and  in  no  place  shalt  thou  have 
repose.  Twisted  thongs  shall  crack  and  twined 
serpents  hiss,  and  torches  smoke  before  thy  guilty 
face.  By  these  furies  shalt  thou  be  driven  while 
living  and  by  these  when  dead,  and  thy  punishment 
shall  outlast  thy  life.  Nor  shall  any  funeral  fall 
to  thy  lot,  nor  lamentation  of  thy  kin ;  thou  shalt 
be  cast  forth,  a  life  unmourned.  The  hand  of  the 
executioner  shall  drag  thee,  amid  the  plaudits  of 
the  mob,  and  his  hook  shall  be  fixed  in  thy  bones.^ 
The  very  flames,  which  consume  all  things,  shall 
shun  thee ;  the  righteous  ground  shall  spurn  thy 
hated  corpse.  With  beak  and  talons  the  cruel 
vulture  shall  pluck  at  thy  loms,  and  ravening  dogs 

‘  cf.  Juv.  10.  66  :  Seianus  ducitur  unco. 


263 


OVID 


Deque  tuo  fiet — licet  hac  sis  laude  superbus — 
Insatiabilibus  corpore  rixa  lupis. 

In  loca  ab  Elysiis  diversa  vocabere  campis. 

Quasque  tenet  sedes  noxia  turba,  coles. 

Sisyphus  est  illic  saxum  volvensque  petensque,  175 
Quique  agitur  I’apidae  vinctus  ab  orbe  rotae, 

Quaeque  gerunt  umeris  perituras  Belides  undas, 

Exulis  Aegypti,  turba  cruenta,  nurus. 

Poma  pater  Pelopis  praesentia  quaerit,  et  idem 

Semper  eget,  liquidis  semper  abundat  aquis;  ISO 
lugeribusque  novem  summus  qui  distat  ab  imo, 
Visceraque  assiduae  debita  praebet  ayj. 

Hic  tibi  de  Furiis  scindet  latus  una  flagello. 

Ut  sceleris  numeros  confiteare  tui  : 

Altera  Tartareis  sectos  dabit  anguibus  artus  :  185 

Tertia  fumantes  incoquet  igne  genas. 

Noxia  mille  modis  lacerabitur  umbra,  tuasque 
Aeacus  in  poenas  ingeniosus  erit. 

.  In  te  transcribet  veterum  tormenta  reorum  ; 

Omnibus  antiquis  causa  quietis  eris.  ISO 

Sisyphe,  cui  tradas  revolubile  pondus,  habebis  : 

Versabunt  celeres  nunc  nova  membra  rotae  : 

Hic  et  erit,  ramos  frusti'a  qui  captet  et  undas; 

Hic  inconsumpto  viscere  pascet  aves. 

Nec  mortis  poenas  mors  altera  finiet  huius,  195 

Horaque  erit  tantis  ultima  nulla  malis. 

Inde  ego  pauca  canam,  frondes  ut  siquis  ab  Ida 
Aut  summam  Libyco  de  mare  carpat  aquam. 

189  reorum  Heiiisius :  virorum 


^  Ixion  and  the  Danaids,  the  latter  compelled  to  carry  water 
for  ever  in  sieves,  for  murdering  their  husbands,  the  "sons  of 
Aegyptus. 

364 


IBIS 


tear  thy  perfidious  heart,  and  o’er  thy  body  (of 
such  fame  mayst  thou  boast)  shall  rage  the  strife 
of  insatiable  wolves.  To  places  far  removed  from 
Elysian  fields  shalt  thou  be  summoned,  and  where 
the  guilty  have  their  dwelling  shalt  thou  abide. 
Sisyphus  is  there,  rolling  his  stone  and  seeking 
it  again,  and  he  who  is  whirled,  fast  bound,  by 
the  circle  of  the  flying  wheel,  and  the  daughters 
of  Belus  who  bear  on  their  shoulders  the  water 
that  runs  away,  the  daughters-in-law  of  exiled 
Aegyptus,  a  bloodstained  company.^  Pelops’  sire 
grasps  at  the  fruit  before  him,  and  ever  lacks  yet 
ever  abounds  in  running  waters ;  and  he  whose 
extremities  nine  acres  sunder,  who  yields  his  for¬ 
feited  entrails  to  the  assiduous  bird.^  Here  shall 
one  of  the  Furies  tear  thy  side  with  a  scourge,  that 
thou  mayst  confess  the  full  measure  of  thy  wicked¬ 
ness  ;  another  shall  cut  up  thy  limbs  for  the  snakes 
of  Tartarus  ;  a  third  shall  roast  thy  smoking  face 
with  fire.  In  a  thousand  ways  shall  thy  noxious 
shade  be  mangled,  and  Aeacus  shall  use  all  his 
art  to  find  thee  punishments.  To  thee  shall  he 
transfer  the  torments  of  sinners  of  old ;  to  all  the 
ancients  shalt  thou  bring  peace.  Sisyphus,  thou 
shalt  have  one  to  whom  thou  mayst  give  thy  re¬ 
volving  weight ;  the  swift  wheels  now  shall  turn  new 
limbs ;  this  man  shall  it  be  who  will  grasp  in  vain  at 
boughs  and  waves  ;  this  man  will  feed  the  birds  with 
liver  unconsumed.  Nor  shall  another  death  bring 
this  death’s  torments  to  an  end,  no  hour  shall  be 
the  last  for  misery  so  great.  Thereof  will  I  sing 
but  little,  as  though  one  gathered  leaves  from  Ida, 
or  water  from  the  surface  of  the  Libyan  sea.  For 

2  Tantalus  and  Tityus, 


265 


OVID 


Nam  neque  quot  flores  Sicula  nascantur  in  Hybla, 
Quotve  ferat,  dicam,  terra  Cilissa  crocos,  200 

Nec  cum  tristis  hiems  Aquilonis  inhorruit  alis. 

Quam  multa  flat  grandine  canus  Athos ; 

Nec  mala  voce  mea  poterunt  tua  cuncta  referri. 

Ora  licet  tribuas  multiplicata  mihi. 

Tot  tibi  vae  !  misero  venient  talesque  ruinae,  205 

Ut  cogi  in  lacrimas  me  quoque  posse  putem. 

Illae  me  lacrimae  facient  sine  fine  beatum  : 

Dulcior  hic  risu  tunc  mihi  fletus  erit. 

Natus  es  infelix,— ita  di  voluere — nec  ulla 

Commoda  nascenti  stella  levisve  fuit.  210 

Non  Venus  affulsit,  non  illa  luppiter  hora, 

Lunaque  non  apto  solque  fuere  loco. 

Nec  satis  utiliter  positos  tibi  praebuit  ignes 
Quem  peperit  magno  lucida  Maia  lovi. 

Te  fera  nec  quicquam  placidum  spondentia  Martis  215 
Sidera  presserunt  falciferique  senis. 

Lux  quoque  natalis,  ne  quid  nisi  triste  videres. 

Turpis  et  inductis  nubibus  atra  fuit. 

Haec  est,  in  fastis  cui  dat  gravis  Allia  nomen. 

Quaeque  dies  Ibin,  publica  damna  tulit.  220 

Qui  simul  impurae  matris  prolapsus  ab  alvo 
Cinyphiam  foedo  corpore  pressit  humum. 

Sedit  in  adverso  nocturnus  culmine  bubo, 

Funereoque  graves  edidit  ore  sonos. 

Protinus  Eumenides  lavere  palustribus  undis,  225 

Qua  cava  de  Stygiis  fluxerat  unda  vadis. 

Pectoraque  unxerunt  Erebeae  felle  colubrae, 

Terque  cruentatas  increpuere  manus. 


1  Eliis  suggests  that  Mercury  would  be  favourable  to  Ibis, 
as  having  an  affection  for  the  animal  of  that  name  :  cf.  Aelian, 
H.N.  10,  27.  A  magical  papyrus  has  'Ep^aiVcljs  fSewr. 

266 


IBIS 


neither  can  I  say  how  many  flowers  bloom  in  Sicilian 
Hyblaj  nor  how  many  crocuses  the  Cilician  earth 
doth  bear^  nor,  when  the  fierce  storm  quivers  upon 
the  wings  of  the  North  wind,  with  how  many  hail¬ 
stones  Athos  is  made  white ;  nor  can  all  thy  sins 
be  recounted  by  my  speech,  though  thou  give  me 
voices  manifold.  So  many  (woe  upon  thee  1)  and 
such  destructions  shall  come  on  thee,  that  I  ween 
I  too  could  be  compelled  to  weep.  Those  tears  will 
make  me  happy  without  end  ;  that  weeping  will  be 
sweeter  to  me  than  laughter. 

Thou  wert  born  unfortunate  (so  willed  the  gods), 
no  star  was  favourable  or  kindly  at  thy  birth.  Venus 
shone  not,  nor  Jupiter  in  that  hour,  neither  moon 
nor  sun  were  fitly  placed,  nor  did  he  wdiom  shining 
Maia  bore  to  mighty  Jove  set  his  fires  in  position  to 
bring  thee  aught  of  profit.^  The  savage  star  of 
Mars  that  promises  naught  peaceful  bore  thee  down, 
and  the  star  of  the  aged  wielder  of  the  scythe. 
Thy  natal  day  too,  that  thou  mightest  see  naught 
save  gloom,  was  foul  and  black  with  pall  of  cloud. 
This  is  the  day  to  which  in  our  Annals  deadly  Allia 
gives  her  name,^  and  the  day  which  brought  Ibis  to 
birth,  brought  destruction  to  our  people.  So  soon 
as,  fallen  from  an  impure  mother’s  womb,  his  unclean 
body  lay  on  the  Cinyphian  ^  soil,  a  nocturnal  owl  sat 
over  against  him  in  a  tree-top,  and  uttered  dismal 
sounds  with  death-foretelling  mouth.  Forthwith  the 
Furies  washed  him  in  the  waters  of  the  mere,  where 
flowed  a  channel  from  the  Stygian  stream,  and 
anointed  his  breast  with  poison  of  a  snake  of  Erebus, 
and  thrice  smote  their  blood-stained  hands  together. 

2  The  date  of  the  famous  battle  of  the  Allia,  when  the 
Romans  were  defeated  by  the  Gauls,  July  18th,  390  b.c. 

2  i.e.  African,  from  a  small  river  on  the  N.  coast. 

267 


OVID 


Gutturaque  imbuerunt  infantia  lacte  canino  : 

Hic  primus  pueri  venit  in  ora  cibus: 

Perbibit  inde  suae  rabiem  nutricis  alumnus^ 

Latrat  et  in  toto  verba  canina  foro. 

Membraque  vinxerunt  tinctis  ferrugine  pannis, 

A  male  deserto  quos  rapuere  rogo  : 

Et  ne  non  fultum  nuda  tellure  iaceret. 

Molle  super  silices  inposuere  caput. 

lamque  recessurae  viridi  de  stipite  factas 
Admorunt  oculos  usque  sub  ora  faces. 

Flebat,  ut  est  infans  fumis  contactus  amaris. 

De  tribus  est  cum  sic  una  locuta  soror  : 

“  Tempus  in  inmensum  lacrimas  tibi  movimus  istas 
Quae  semper  causa  sufficiente  cadent.” 

Dixerat ;  at  Clotho  iussit  promissa  valere. 

Nevit  et  infesta  stamina  pulla  manu  ; 

Et  ne  longa  suo  praesagia  diceret  ore, 

“  Fata  canet  vates  qui  tua,”  dixit,  “  erit.” 

Ille  ego  sum  vates  :  ex  me  tua  vulnera  disces, 

Dent  modo  di  vires  in  mea  verba  suas ; 

Carminibusque  meis  accedent  pondera  rerum, 

Quae  rata  per  luctus  experiere  tuos. 

Neve  sine  exemplis  aevi  cruciere  prioris. 

Sint  tua  Troianis  non  leviora  malis. 

Quantaque  clavigeri  Poeantius  Herculis  heres. 
Tanta  venenato  vulnera  crure  geras. 

Nec  levius  doleas,  quam  qui  bibit  ubera  cervae. 
Armatique  tulit  vulnus,  inermis  opem  ; 

Quique  ab  equo  praeceps  in  Aleia  decidit  arva. 
Exitio  facies  cui  sua  paene  fuit. 

257  in  Alehi  //ein.oiiis:  aliena  in  .  .  .  arva,  alienis  ,  .  . 

MSS. 


‘  Philoctetes;  see  note  ou  Jinn,  Am,  111. 

268 


230 


235 


240 


245 


250 


255 


arvis 


IBIS 


His  infant  throat  had  they  moistened  with  bitches’ 
milk  :  this  was  the  first  food  to  enter  the  child’s 
mouth  :  thence  drank  the  fosterling  the  madness  of 
his  nui'se^  and  o’er  the  whole  city  his  snarling  voice 
is  heard.  They  swathed  his  limbs  in  bands  of  dusky 
hue,  snatched  from  a  pyre  abandoned  as  accursed  ; 
and  lest  it  lie  unpropped  on  the  naked  earth  they 
set  a  flint-stone  beneath  his  baby  head.  And  now, 
about  to  withdraw,  they  placed  before  his  eyes,  close 
by  his  face,  a  green-wood  torch.  The  babe  was 
weeping,  smarting  from  the  pungent  smoke,  when 
one  sister  of  the  three  thus  spake  :  “  Unto  endless 
ages  have  we  called  forth  those  tears  of  thine,  which, 
their  cause  failing  not,  shall  ever  fall.”  She  had  done  ; 
but  Clotho  bade  her  })romise  have  power,  and  with 
hostile  hand  spun  dark-hued  threads;  and  that  her 
own  mouth  might  not  utter  the  long  presage,  “  There 
shall  be  a  bard,”  said  she,  ^^to  sing  thy  fate.”  That 
bard  am  I ;  from  me  shalt  thou  learn  thy  wounds,  so 
do  the  gods  but  lend  their  strength  to  my  Avords ; 
and  the  weight  of  circumstance  shall  aid  my  songs, 
Avhose  fulfilment  thou  shalt  experience  to  thy  sorrow. 
And  lest  the  examples  of  a  former  age  be  lacking  to 
thy  torments,  let  not  thine  ills  be  lighter  than  those 
of  Troy,  and  such  wounds  as  the  son  of  Poeas,  heir  of 
club-wielding  Hercules,  endured  in  his  envenomed 
leg,  mayst  thou  bear  in  thine. ^  Nor  mayst  thou 
suffer  less  grievously  than  he  who  drank  of  the  hind’s 
udders,  whom  the  armed  man  wounded  and  the  un¬ 
armed  succoured  ;  ^  or  than  he  who  from  his  horse  fell 
headlong  to  the  Aleian  fields,  whose  face  was  well- 

^  Telephus  was  suckled  by  a  hind,  and  was  both  wounded 
and  healed  by  Achilles’  spear  ;  “  inermis,”  i.  e.  Machaon. 

269 


OVID 


Id,  quod  Amyntorides,  videas,  trepidumque  ministro 
Praetemptes  baculo  luminis  orbus  iter.  260 

Nec  plus  aspicias,  quam  quem  sua  filia  rexit. 

Expertus  scelus  est  cuius  uterque  parens  : 

Qualis  erat,  postquam  est  iudex  de  lite  iocosa 
Sumptus,  A})ollinea  clarus  in  arte  senex  ; 

Qualis  et  ille  fuit,  quo  praecipiente  columba  265 

Est  data  Palladiae  praevia  duxque  rati : 

Quique  oculis  caruit,  per  quos  male  viderat  aurum. 
Inferias  nato  quos  dedit  orba  parens  : 

Pastor  ut  Aetnaeus,  cui  casus  ante  futuros 

Telemus  Eurymides  vaticinatus  erat :  270 

Ut  duo  Phinidae,  quibus  idem  lumen  ademit, 

Qui  dedit :  ut  Thamyrae  Demodocique  caput. 

Sic  aliquis  tua  membra  secet,  Saturnus  ut  illas 
Subsecuit  partes,  unde  creatus  erat. 

Nec  tibi  sit  melior  tumidis  Neptunus  in  undis,  .  275 

Quam  cui  sunt  subitae  frater  et  uxor  aves ; 
Sollertique  viro,  lacerae  quem  fracta  tenentem 
Membra  ratis  Semeles  est  miserata  soror. 

^'’el  tua,  ne  poenae  genus  hoc  cognoverit  unus, 

Viscera  diversis  scissa  ferantur  equis  ;  280 


1  Bellerophon,  to  wlioin  Stheuohoea,  wife  of  Proetus,  king  of 
Corinth,  played  the  part  of  Potiphar’s  wife ;  after  slaying  the 
Chimaera  he  descended  from  Pegasus  on  the  Aleian  fields  in 
Cilicia  (cf.  Horn.  11,  6.  201). 

^  Phoenix,  who  was  blinded  by  his  father. 

^  Oedipus  (261)  ;  Tiresias  (263)  was  called  upon  by  Jupiter 
and  Juno  to  say  whether  sexual  intercourse  W'as  more  pleasing 
to  the  man  or  to  the  woman  ;  having  decided  in  favour  of  the 
latter  he  incurred  the  anger  of  Juno,  who  blinded  him  ;  Phineus 
(265)  taught  the  Argonauts  how  to  sail  through  the  Symplegades  ; 

270 


IBIS 


nigh  his  destruction.^  Mayst  thou  see  what  Ainyn- 
tor’s  son  beheld^  and  reft  of  light  grope  thy  timorous 
path  by  the  service  of  a  stick.^  Nor  mayst  thou  see 
more  than  he  whom  his  daughter  guided,  whose 
wickedness  both  his  parents  knew ;  but  be  as  was 
the  old  man,  famous  for  Apollo’s  craft,  when  he  was 
taken  to  judge  the  jesting  quarrel;  as  he,  too,  by  whose 
precept  the  dove  was  made  forerunner  and  guide  of 
the  Palladian  ship ;  and  also  as  he  who  lost  those 
eyes  by  which  to  his  loss  he  looked  upon  the  gold, 
and  which  the  bereft  mother  gave  as  death-offering 
to  her  son  ;  or  as  Aetna’s  shepherd,  to  whom  Telephus, 
son  of  Eurynius,  foretold  what  should  befall  him  ;  as 
the  two  sons  of  Phineus,  from  whom  he  reft  the  light 
who  gave  it ;  as  the  head  of  Thamyris  or  of  Demo- 
docus.^  So  may  one  hack  thy  limbs,  as  Saturn  cut 
off  those  parts  that  wrought  his  birth. ^  Nor  may 
Neptune  be  kinder  to  thee  among  the  swelling  waves 
than  to  him  whose  bi’other  and  wife  became  on  a 
sudden  birds  ;  or  to  the  man  of  guile,  whom  Semele’s 
sister  pitied  as  he  clung  to  the  fragments  of  his 
shattered  raft.®  Either  (lest  one  alone  ®  know  this 
fashion  of  punishment)  may  thy  flesh  be  torn  and 
carried  by  horses  diverse  ways ;  or  mayst  thou  bear 

Polymestor  (267)  stole  the  gold  entrusted  to  Polydorus,  and 
was  blinded  bj'  the  latter’s  mother  Hecuba  ;  Polyphemus ; 
Plexippus  and  Pandion,  according  to  Apollodorus,  but  the 
names  vary  ;  Thamyris  and  Demodocus,  both  blind  bards. 

**  Saturn  (Cronos)  mutilated  his  father  Uranus. 

®  Ceyx,  king  of  Trachis,  whose  brother  Daedalion  became 
a  hawk,  and  his  wife  Alcyone  a  halcyon  or  kingfisher  :  Ino 
saved  Ulysses  when  flung  from  his  raft  by  giving  him  her  veil 
(Horn.  Od.  5.  333) :  in  Homer,  however,  the  raft  is  not  yet 
shattered. 

*  Mettius  Fufetius,  King  of  Alba,  suffered  this  fate,  after 
breaking  a  treaty  he  had  made  with  Rome  ;  see  Livy,  i.  28. 

271 


OVID 


V'el  quae  qui  redimi  Romauo  tur]>e  putavit, 

A  duce  Puniceo  pertulit,  ipse  feras. 

Nec  tibi  subsidio  praesens  sit  numen,  ut  illi, 

Cui  nil  Hercei  iirofuit  ara  lovis. 

Utque  dedit  saltus  de  siunma  Thessalus  Oss;i,  2S5 

Tu  quoque  saxoso  praecipitere  iugo. 

Aut  velut  Eurylochi,  qui  sceptrum  cepit  ab  illo. 

Sint  artus  avidis  anguibus  esca  tui. 

\’el  tua  maturet,  sicut  .Minoia  fata. 

Per  caput  infusae  fervidus  umor  aquae.  290 

Utque  operum  mitis,  sed  non  impune,  Prometheus, 
Aerias  volucres  compede  fixus  alas. 

Aut  ut  Erechthides,  magno  ter  ab  Hercule  victus. 
Caesus  in  inmensum  proiciare  fretum. 

Aut  ut  Amyntiaden,  turpi  dilectus  amore  295 

Oderit,  et  saevo  vulneret  ense  puer. 

Nec  tibi  fida  magis  misceri  pocula  possint. 

Quam  qui  cornigero  de  love  natus  erat. 

More  vel  intereas  capti  suspensus  Achaei, 

Qui  miser  aurifera  teste  pependit  aqua.  300 

282  Puniceo  21 SS.  {but  the  word  is  not  otkcricise  found): 
Cinyphio  later  2ISS.  {see  1.  222). 

284  Hercei  B  :  Rhoetei  21crkel. 

291  operum  mitis  Merkel :  parum  mitis  MSS.  :  parum 
illinitis  Owen:  Housman  brackets  the  couplet. 

293  ethreclides,  echecratides,  etracides  MSS. :  Erechthides 
Ellis,  quintus  other  MSS. :  victus  T. 


^  Regulus. 

*  Priam ;  cf.  Virg.  Aen.  2.  506  where  Priam  is  slain  at  the 
altar  of  Zeus  in  his  own  courtyard.  Hercei,  i.e.  of  the^EpKos  or 
court,  where  the  altar  was. 

*  Apparently  a  king  of  Thessalj'  since  Eurylochus  was  one. 

*  The  fate  of  Minos,  at  the  hands  of  the  daughters  of 
Cocalus,  when  he  went  to  Sicily  in  search  of  the  escaped 
Daedalus. 


272 


IBIS 


what  he  bore  at  the  Punic  chieftain’s  hands,  who 
held  it  base  for  a  Roman  to  be  ransomed.^  Nor  may 
a  present  deity  bring  thee  aid,  as  to  him  whom  the 
household  shrine  of  Jove  availed  naught.^  And  as 
Thessalus'^  leapt  down  from  Ossa’s  height,  so  mayst 
thou  too  be  hurled  from  a  rocky  ridge.  Or  like 
Eurylochus,  who  took  the  sceptre  from  him,  may 
thy  limbs  be  food  for  greedy  snakes.  Or  like  Minos’ 
fate,  let  the  boiling  heat  of  w'ater  poured  upon  thy 
head  hasten  thy  death. ^  And  like  Prometheus, 
whose  deeds  w'ei'e  kindly,  yet  not  unpunished,  mayst 
thou  be  fettered  and  feed  the  birds  of  air.°  Or  like 
Erechthides,  thrice  defeated  by  mighty  Hercules, 
mayst  thou  be  slain  and  hurled  into  the  immeasur¬ 
able  deep.®  Or  like  Amyntus’  son,  may  the  boy 
thou  dost  love  detest  thy  shameful  wooing,  and 
Avound  thee  with  his  angiy  blade.^  Nor  may  cups 
more  trustworthy  be  mixed  for  thee  than  for  him 
who  was  born  of  horned  Jove.®  Or  hanging  like 
the  captive  Achaeus  mayst  thou  die,  who  hung 
miserably  by  the  stream  that  bears  the  gold.®  Or 

®  Ellis  thinks  there  may  be  a  play  on  the  Greek  word 
M^tis  =  Wisdom,  and  “mitis,”  and  interprets  “  that  failed 
in  his  philanthropy”  ;  there  are  similar  plays  on  words  in 
Aesch.  P.  V.  85,  and  Pro^r.  iii.  5.  7,  8. 

°  Probably  Eryx,  Avhom  Hercules  defeated  in  Avrestling 
and  Hung  into  the  sea  ;  for  the  genealogy,  see  Ellis  ad  loc, 

’’  Philip,  father  of  Alexander  the  Great,  killed  by  Pau¬ 
sanias,  whom  he  had  once  outraged.  Others  explain  of 
Archelaus,  king  of  Macedonia. 

*  Alexander  the  Great,  wdio  declared  himself  the  son  of 
Zeus  Ammon,  the  Iiorned  god,  and  loved  to  be  represented  as 
horned  himself  ;  according  to  some  he  was  poisoned,  though 
this  is  probably  inaccurate. 

®  A  rebel  against  Antiochus  the  Great,  who  beheaded  him, 
sewed  him  up  in  an  ass’s  skin  and  hung  him  on  a  cross  at 
Sardis,  by  the  “  golden”  river  Pactolus  (214  b.c.). 

273 

T 


OVID 


Aut  ut  Achilliden,  cognato  nomine  clarum. 
Opprimat  hostili  tegula  iacta  manu. 

Nec  tua  quam  Pyrrhi  felicius  ossa  quiescant. 
Sparsa  per  Ambracias  quae  iacuere  vias. 

Nataque  ut  Aeacidae  iaculis  moriaris  adactis  ; 
Non  licet  hoc  Cereri  dissimulare  sacrum. 

Utque  nepos  dicti  nostro  modo  carmine  regis. 
Cantharidum  sucos  dante  parente  bibas. 

Aut  pia  te  caeso  dicatur  adultera,  sicut 
Qua  cecidit  Leucon  vindice,  dicta  pia  est. 

U  ^  ‘^Inque  pyram  tecum  carissima  corpora  mittas. 
Quem  finem  vitae  Sardanapallus  habet. 

Utque  lovis  Libyci  templum  violare  parantes. 
Acta  noto  vultus  condat  harena  tuos. 

Utque  necatorum  Darei  fraude  secundi. 

Sic  tua  subsidens  devoret  ora  cinis. 

Aut  ut  olivifera  quondam  Sicyone  profecto. 
Sit  frigus  mortis  causa  famesque  tuae. 


1  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus,  who  claimed  descent  from  Achilles 
(whose  son  was  also  named  Pyrrhus),  met  his  death  by  being 
struck  by  a  tile  at  the  siege  of  Argos  (272  B.C.). 

2  Pyrrhus,  son  of  Achilles,  was  killed  by  Orestes  at  Delphi, 
but  this  is  the  only  reference  to  Ambracia.  It  may  refer  to 
some  unknown  story  about  the  younger  Pyrrhus,  grandson  of 
the  king  of  Epirus. 

®  A  grand-daughter  of  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus,  named 
Deidamia,  or  Laodamia,  who  was  the  victim  of  popular  fury, 
and  was  killed  in  the  temple  of  Ceres  (the  authorities,  however, 
say  Diana)  ;  Ceres  cannot  shroud  this  murder  in  the  same 
mystery  as  the  rites  of  Eleusis. 

‘  Pyrrhus,  grandson  of  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus,  who  was 
poisoned  with  his  mistress  Tigris  by  his  mother  Olympias.  Eor 
Spanish  fly,  cf.  Cic.  Tusc,  5.  40.  117. 

^  Leucon  was  a  son  of  Athamas,  and  was  killed  in  error  by 
his  mother  Themisto,  who  married  Athamas,  though  his  wife 
Ino  unknown  to  him  was  still  living  (therefore  a  “  pia  adult- 

274 


IBIS 


like  Achilles’  scion,  whose  kindred  name  brings  him 
renown,  may  a  tile  flung  by  an  enemy's  hand  destroy 
thee.i  Nor  may  thy  bones  rest  more  blissful  than 
those  of  Pyrrhus,  which  lay  scattered  through  Am- 
bracian  ways.^  And  like  the  daughter  of  Aeacides 
mayst  thou  die  by  the  blows  of  javelins ;  this  rite 
Ceres  may  not  dissemble.^  And  like  the  grandson 
of  the  monarch  named  in  my  song  but  now,  mayst 
thou  di-ink  at  thy  parent’s  hand  the  juice  of  the 
Spanish  fly.^  Or  may  an  adulteress  be  called 
righteous  for  slaying  thee,  as  she  was  called  righteous 
by  whose  vengeance  Leucon  fell.®  And  mayst  thou 
send  with  thee  to  the  pyre  the  bodies  most  dear  to 
thee,®  an  end  of  life  that  befell  Sardanapalus.  And 
like  them  who  prepared  to  violate  the  shrine  of 
Libyan  Jove,^  ™ay  the  sand  driven  by  the  South 
wind  o’erwhelm  thy  face.  And  like  those  slain  by 
the  fraud  of  the  second  Darius,  even  so  may  the 
sinking  ashes  devour  thy  countenance.®  Or  like 
him  who  once  set  forth  from  olive-bearing  Sicyon, 
may  cold  and  hunger  be  the  cause  of  thy  death.® 

era  ”)  ;  when  Athamas  wished  to  bring  Iiio  back,  Themisto 
plotted  vengeance  :  so  Ellis,  but  the  schol.  explains  of  a 
Leucon,  king  of  Pontus,  in  love  with  his  brother’s  wife. 

®  His  wife  and  concubines  (Athenaeus  529). 

’  Persian  soldiers  sent  by  king  Cambyses  (Hdt.  3.  25). 

®  Darius  Ochus  devised  a  punishment  to  evade  an  oath  he 
had  taken  not  to  kill  those  taken  in  a  conspiracy  against  him, 
which  was  to  contrive  that  they  should  fall  when  asleep  into 
a  pit  of  ashes  (presumably  red  hot)  ;  cf.  Val.  Max.  9.  2.  6, 
and  also  Maccabees,  2.  13. 5. 

“  Conjectures  mentioned  by  Ellis  are  :  (i)  Neocles,  during 
tyranny  of  Paseas,  252-1  B.c.  ;  (ii)  Neophron  or  Nearchusa, 
a  tragedian  ;  (ii)  Adrastus,  once  king  of  Sicyon,  whose  ndOea 
were  celebrated  by  the  Sicyonians ;  (iv)  Demetrius  Polior¬ 
cetes,  for  whose  end  cf.  Pint.  Dem.  46. 


T  2 


275 


OVID 


Aut  ut  AtarniteSj  insutus  pelle  iuvenci 

Turpiter  ad  dominum  praeda  ferare  tuum.  320 

Inque  tuo  thalamo  ritu  iugulere  Pheraei, 

Qui  datus  est  leto  coniugis  ense  suae, 

Quosque  putas  fidos,  ut  Larisaeus  Aleuas 
V^ulnere  non  fidos  experiare  tuo. 

Utque  Milo,  sub  quo  cruciata  est  Pisa  tyranno,  325 
^  Vivus  in  occultas  praecipiteris  aquas. 

Quaeque  in  Aphidantum  Phylaceia  regna  tenentem 
A  love  venerunt,  te  quoque  tela  petant. 

Aut  ut  Amastriacis  quondam  Lenaeus  ab  oris. 

Nudus  Achillea  destituaris  humo.  330 

Utque  vel  Eurydamas  ter  circum  busta  Thrasylli 
Est  Larisaeis  raptus  ab  hoste  rotis, 

V el  qui,  quae  fuerat  tutatus  moenia  saepe. 

Corpore  lustravit  non  diuturna  suo, 

Utque  novum  passa  genus  Hippomeneide  poenae  335 
Tractus  in  Actaea  fertur  adulter  humo. 

Sic,  ubi  vita  tuos  invisa  reliquerit  artus, 

Ultores  rapiant  tui'pe  cadaver  equi. 

Viscera  sic  aliquis  scopulus  tua  figat,  ut  olim 

Fixa  sub  Euboico  Graia  fuere  sinu  ;  3-iO 

Utcjue  ferox  periit  et  fulmine  et  aequore  raptor, 

Sic  te  mersuras  adiuvet  ignis  aquas. 


^  Hennias,  king  of  Atarue,  who  rebelled  against  the  Persians 
about  the  middle  of  the  4:th  cent.  B.C. 

Alexander,  tj’rant  of  Pherae  (369-335),  slain  by  his  wife 
Thebe  when  plotting  to  slay  his  sons. 

®  Unknown  :  he  seems  to  have  been  treacherously  stabbed. 

*  No  satisfactory  explanation  ;  see  excursus  in  Ellis,  p.  170. 

®  Lycaon,  slain  by  Jove  for  having  feasted  him  with  human 
flesh. 

276 


IBIS 


Or  like  the  Atarnean,  mayst  thou,  sewed  in  a  bullock’s 
hide,  be  basely  carried  as  booty  to  thy  lord.^  And 
mayst  thou  be  murdered  in  thy  chamber  like  him  of 
Pherae,  who  was  slain  by  the  sword  of  his  own 
spouse,^  and  like  Aleuas  of  Larissa  mayst  thou  by 
thine  own  wound  find  faithless  those  whom  thou 
thinkest  faithful.^  And  like  Milo,  under  whose 
tyranny  Pisa  groaned,  mayst  thou  be  hurled  alive 
into  hidden  waters  A  And  may  the  missiles  sped  by 
Jove  against  him  who  held  the  Phylacian  realm  of 
the  Aphidantians  seek  thee  also.^  Or  like  Lenaeus 
faring  once  from  Amastris’  shores  mayst  thou  be  left 
destitute  on  Achillean  soil.®  And  as  either  Eurydamas 
was  thrice  dragged  round  Tlirasyllus’  tomb  by 
Larissean  wheels,  or  he  who  with  his  own  body 
purified  the  walls,  so  soon  to  fall,  which  he  had  often 
saved,  or  as  the  adulterer  was  dragged,  they  say, 
o’er  Attic  soil,  while  the  daughter  of  Hippomenes 
suffered  a  new  kind  of  doom,  so,  when  the  hated  life 
has  left  thy  limbs,  may  avenging  steeds  pull  thy 
dishonoured  corpse.'^  In  such  wise  may  some  rock 
pierce  thy  flesh,  as  the  Greeks  were  pierced  in  the 
Euboean  bay ;  and  as  the  bold  ravisher  perished  by 
thunderbolt  and  by  sea,  so  may  fire  aid  the  waters 

®  Explained  either  of  Mithridates  the  Great,  who  was 
•surnamed  Dionysus  (“Achillea”  being  explained  either  by 
two  filaces  near  the  Tauric  Chersonese,  ’AyiAAewy  SpS/xoi  and 
’Ax'AAcios  icwfiri,  cf.  Bergk,  fr.  49),  or  of  Philoctetes,  read¬ 
ing  “Lemnaeus,”  when  Ellis  would  read  “Echidnaea,”  of 
the  viper  that  bit  him. 

’  Eurydamas  had  killed  Thrasyllus,  brother  of  Simon  of 
Larissa  ;  Hector’s  being  dragged  round  the  walls  is  compared 
to  the  solemn  lustral  processions  round  city  walls ;  the 
seducer  of  Limone  (see  1.  459)  was  dragged  behind  a  chariot, 
while  she  was  shut  up  with  a  horse  and  torn  to  pieces 
(probably  related  in  Callimachus’  Ibis). 


277 


OVID 


Mens  quoque  sic  furiis  vecors  agitetur,  ut  illi, 

Unum  qui  toto  corpore  vulnus  habet ; 

Utque  Dryantiadae  Rhodopeia  regna  tenenti,  345 

In  gemino  dispar  cui  pede  cultus  erat. 

Ut  fuit  Oetaeo  quondam  generoque  draconum 
Tisamenique  patri  Callirlmesque  viro. 

Nec  tibi  contingat  matrona  pudicior  illa. 

Qua  potuit  Tydeus  erubuisse  nuru  :  360 

Quaeque  sui  Venerem  iunxit  cum  fratre  mariti, 

Locris  in  ancillae  dissimulata  nece. 

Tam  quoque,  di  faciant,  possis  gaudere  fideli 
Coniuge,  quam  Talai  Tyndareique  gener  : 

Quaeque  parare  suis  letum  patruelibus  ausae  355 

Belides  assidua  colla  premuntur  aqua. 

Byblidos  et  Canaces,  sicut  facis,  ardeat  igne. 

Nec  nisi  per  crimen  sit  tibi  fida  soror. 

Filia  si  fuerit,  sit  quod  Pelopea  Thyesti, 

Myrrha  suo  patri,  Nyctimeneque  suo.  360 

Neve  magis  pia  sit  capitique  parentis  amica. 

Quam  sua  vel  Pterelae,  vel  tibi,  Nise,  fuit : 


^  The  wreck  of  Greek  vessels  returning  from  Troy  on 
Caphereus  ;  Ajax  Oileus,  who  ravished  Cassandra,  was  struck 
by  a  thundei’bolt  and  then  drowned. 

*  Ajax,  who  could  only  be  wounded  in  his  left  side; 
Lycurgus,  king  of  Thrace,  who  had  lost  one  foot  {/.LovoKprimSa 
AvKovpyov) ;  Hercules,  burnt  on  Mt.  Oeta  ;  Athamas,  whose  wife 
Ino  was  daughter  of  Cadmus  and  Harmonia,  changed  into 
snakes  ;  Orestes  ;  Alcmaeon,  who  slew  his  mother  Eriphyla  for 
causing  the  death  of  her  husband  Amphiaraus :  all  these  were 
driven  mad  in  one  way  or  other. 

®  Aegiale,  wife  of  Diomede,  who  had  many  lovers. 

278 


IBIS 


that  will  drown  thee.^  Mayst  thou  in  mind  too  be 
as  distraught  and  frenzy-driven  as  he  who  in  his  whole 
body  has  but  one  wound  ;  or  as  the  son  of  Dryas  who 
held  the  realm  of  Rhodope^  and  wore  unlike  gear  on 
his  two  feet ;  or  the  Oetean  of  old,  or  the  son-in-laAV 
of  serpents,  or  Tisamenus’  sire,  or  Callirhoe’s  hus- 
band.2  Nor  may  thy  mother  be  more  chaste  than 
she  for  whom  as  his  daughter-in-law  Tydeus  might 
have  blushed  :  ^  or  as  the  Locrian  who  joined  in  love 
with  her  husband’s  brother,  when  she  had  been 
disguised  in  the  person  of  her  slaughtered  handmaid.^ 
And  so.  Heaven  grant,  mayst  thou  find  joy  in  the 
faithfulness  of  thy  spouse,  as  did  Talaus’  or  Tyndareus’ 
son-in-law  :  ®  or  as  did  their  husbands  in  the  daughters 
of  Belus,  who  dared  to  plan  death  for  their  own  cousins, 
and  whose  necks  are  bowed  with  constant  carrying 
of  water.®  May  thy  sister  burn,  as  with  a  torch,  with 
the  fire  of  Byblis  and  of  Canace,  nor  prove  her  love 
save  by  a  crime. If  thou  hast  a  daughter,  may  she 
be  what  Pelopea  was  to  Thyestes,  Myrrha  to  her 
father  and  Nyctimene  to  hers.®  Nor  may  she  be 
more  dutiful  and  more  considerate  to  her  father’s 
head  than  was  his  daughter  to  Pherelas,  or  thine  to 

*  Arsinoe,  wife  of  Lysimachus,  Ptolemy  Ceraunus,  Ptolemy 
Philadelphus  in  succession,  of  whom  the  two  latter  were  her 
brothers,  but  Ceraunus  was  still  alive  when  she  married 
Philadelphus  ;  she  escaped  from  Ephesus  when  attacked  by 
Seleucus  by  disguising  a  handmaid  as  herself  ;  the  latter  was 
killed,  and  she  escaped. 

®  Amphiaraus  in  Eriphyle,  daughter  of  Talaus,  who  caused 
his  death,  and  Agamemnon  in  Clytemnestra, 

®  The  Danaids,  who  slew  their  cousin-husbands,  sons  of 
Aegyptus,  and  had  to  carry  water  in  sieves  as  a  punish¬ 
ment. 

’  They  each  fell  in  love  with  their  own  brother. 

®  More  instances  of  incest. 

279 


OVID 


Infamemque  locum  sceleris  quae  nomine  fecit. 

Pressit  et  inductis  membra  paterna  rotis. 

Ut  iuvenes  pereas,  quorum  vestigia  vultus,  365 

Brachia  Pisaeae  sustinuere  fores  : 

Ut  qui  pei’fusam  miserorum  saepe  procorum 
Ipse  suo  melius  sanguine  tinxit  humum  : 

Proditor  ut  saevi  periit  auriga  tyranni, 

Qui  nova  Myrtoae  nomina  fecit  aquae  :  370 

Ut  qui  velocem  frustra  petiere  puellam. 

Dum  facta  est  pomis  tardior  illa  tribus  : 

Ut  qui  tecta  novi  formam  celantia  monstri 
Intrarunt  caecae  non  redeunda  domus  : 

Ut  quorum  Aeacides  misit  violentus  in  altum  375 

Corpora  cum  senis  altera  sena  rogum  : 

Ut  quos,  obscuri  victos  ambagibus  oris. 

Legimus  infandae  Sphinga  dedisse  neci : 

Ut  qui  Bistoniae  templo  cecidere  Minervae, 

Propter  quod  facies  nunc  quoque  tecta  deaest :  380 

Ut  qui  Threicii  quondam  praesepia  regis 
Fecerunt  dapibus  sanguinolenta  suis  : 

Therodamanteos  ut  qui  sensere  leones, 

Quique  Thoanteae  Taurica  sacra  deae  : 

^  Comaetho  cut  off  the  golden  lock  that  secured  Pherelas 
immortality;  Nisus  had  a  purple  lock,  which  Scylla  cut  off; 
for  Tullia,  wife  of  Tarc[uin  the  Proud,  drove  a  cart  over  her 
dead  father,  whence  the  place  was  called  “  vicus  sceleratus.” 

®  The  suitors  of  Hippodamia,  who  were  so  treated  by  her 
father  Oenomaus,  when  he  had  defeated  them  in  a  chariot-race 
3  Oenomaus  himself  committed  suicide  when  defeated. 

«  Myrtilus,  the  treacherous  charioteer  of  Oenomaus  who  was 
flung  into  tlie  sea  by  Pelops,  hence  called  Myrtoan. 

f  Atalanta  could  only  be  wooed  by  racing  her  on  foot’ 
Mdanion  by  throwing  down  the  apples  diverted  her  attention 
and  won  the  race.  ’ 

“  The  Labyrinth  containing  the  IMinotaur. 

^  The  twelve  Trojans  whom  Achilles  sacrificed  at  the  pyre  of 
Patroclus. 

280 


IBIS 


thee,  O  Nisus :  or  than  she  who  made  the  plaee 
infamous  with  the  mention  of  her  sin,  and  crushed 
her  sire’s  limbs  beneath  driven  wheels. ^  As  those 
youths  mayst  thou  perish,  whose  feet  and  faces  and 
arms  the  gates  of  Pisa  held  aloft :  -  as  he  who  with  his 
own  blood  more  profitably  stained  the  ground  that 
the  blood  of  wretched  suitors  oft  had  drenched  :  ^ 
as  perished  the  traitorous  charioteer  of  the  fierce 
tyrant,  giving  a  new  name  to  the  Myrtoan  sea  :  ^  as 
they  who  wooed  the  fleet-footed  girl  in  vain,  until 
three  apples  made  her  slower  ;  ®  as  they  who  entered 
the  chambers  that  hid  the  monster  of  strange  shape, 
the  blind  dwelling  whence  there  was  no  return  :  ®  as 
those  whose  bodies,  six  with  another  six  again, 
Aeacides  in  fury  sent  to  the  lofty  pyre  :  as  those 
whom,  overcome  by  her  mouth’s  dark  riddling,  the 
Sphinx,  we  read,  sent  to  unspeakable  death ;  ^  as 
those  who  fell  in  the  shrine  of  Bistonian  Minerva, 
wherefore  even  now  the  face  of  the  goddess  is 
veiled  :  ®  as  those  who  once  made  the  stalls  of  the 
'Phracian  monarch  gory  with  the  feast  of  their  own 
flesh  :  10  as  they  who  felt  the  lions  of  Therodamas,  or 
knew  the  Tauric  rites  of  the  goddess  of  Thoas  :  n  as 

"  Thej'  were  hurled  from  a  steep  cliff  if  they  failed  to 
answer  the  riddles  of  the  Sphinx. 

^  cf.  Lycophron,  Alex.  987  ff.  The  reference  is  to  a 
slaughter  of  Trojan  refugees  in  a  temple  of  Minerva  (Athena) 
at  Siris  in  Magna  Graecia  ;  the  statue  of  Minerva  there  was 
sometimes  claimed  to  he  the  real  Palladium.  “  Bistonian, 
because  the  Biritans  were  thought  to  be  Thracian  in 
origin. 

The  victims  of  Diomede,  king  of  Thrace,  who  fed  his 
mares  on  human  flesh. 

Therodamas,  a  Lib3'an  king  who  threw  strangers  to  lions 
(cf,  Ov. ,  Pont.  1.  2.  119);  Thoas,  king  of  the  Tauric  Cherso¬ 
nese,  who  practised  human  sacrifice  to  Artemis  (cf.  Eurip., 
Iph.  in  Taur.). 


281 


OVID 


Ut  quos  Scylla  vorax  Scyllaeque  adversa  Charybdis  385 
Dulichiae  pavidos  eripuere  rati : 

Ut  quos  demisit  vastam  Polyphemus  in  alvum  : 

Ut  Laestrygonias  qui  subiere  manus  : 

Ut  quos  dux  Poenus  mersit  putealibus  undis 

Et  iacto  canas  pulvere  fecit  aquas  :  390 

Sex  bis  ut  Icaridos  famulae  periere  procique, 

Inque  caput  domini  qui  dabat  arma  procis  : 

Ut  iacet  Aonio  luctator  ab  hospite  fusus. 

Qui,  mirum,  victor,  cum  cecidisset,  erat : 

Ut  quos  Antaei  fortes  pressere  lacerti :  396 

Quosque  ferae  morti  Lemnia  turba  dedit : 

Ut  qui  post  longum,  sacri  monstrator  iniqui. 

Elicuit  pluvias  victima  caesus  aquas  : 

Frater  ut  Antaei  quo  sanguine  debuit,  aras 

Tinxit,  et  exemplis  occidit  ipse  suis  :  400 

Ut  qui  terribiles  pro  gramen  habentibus  herbis 
Impius  humano  viscere  pavit  equos  : 

Ut  duo  diversis  sub  eodem  vindice  caesi 
Vulneribus,  Nessus  Dexamenique  gener  : 

Ut  pronepos,  Saturne,  tuus,  quem  reddere  vitam  405 
Urbe  Coronides  vidit  ab  ipse  sua : 

^  See  Odyssey,  bk.  12. 

^  Ibid.,  bk.  9  and  bk.  10. 

3  The  senate  of  Acerra  (Appian,  viii.  63);  “white,”  i.e. 
instead  of  red  with  blood. 

^  The  handmaidens  of  Penelope,  slain  by  Odysseus,  and  the 
traitor  Melanthius  {Od.  22). 

®  Antaeus,  king  of  Libya,  compelled  strangers  to  wrestle 
with  him ;  he  was  thrown  by  Hercules  (born  at  Thebes, 
hence  Aonian  =  Boeotian) ;  Antaeus  renewed  his  strength  so 
often  as  he  touched  the  earth.  His  brothers  were  Thrasius 
(or  Phrasius)  and  Busiris  ;  the  former  taught  the  rite  of 

282 


IBIS 


they  whom  greedy  Scylla  or  Charybdis  facing  Scylla 
snatched  trembling  from  the  Dulichian  craft  as 
they  whom  Polyphemus  sent  down  into  his  vast 
paunchj  or  who  suffered  Laestrygonian  violence  :  ^  as 
they  whom  the  Punic  chieftain  sank  in  the  waters  of 
the  well^  and  throwing  dust  upon  them  made  the 
water  white  ;  ^  as  perished  the  twice  six  handmaidens 
of  Icarius’  daughter  and  her  suitors,  and  he  who  gave 
arms  to  the  suitors  against  his  master’s  life  :  ^  as  lies 
the  wrestler  whom  the  Aonian  stranger  threw,  whose 
falling,  wondrous  to  tell,  brought  him  victory ;  as 
those  whom  the  strong  arms  of  Antaeus  crushed, 
and  those  whom  the  Lemnian  crowd  sent  to  a  savage 
death  :  as  he  who  taught  a  cruel  rite,  and  after  long 
time,  a  victim  slain,  brought  rainy  showers ;  as 
Antaeus’  brother  stained  the  altars  with  the  blood  it 
was  right  to  shed,  and  fell  by  the  example  of  his 
own  deed:®  as  he  who  impiously  fed  the  terrible 
steeds  with  human  flesh  in  place  of  the  grass  that 
holds  the  grain :  ®  as  the  two  slain  by  different 
wounds  of  the  same  avenger’s  hand,  Nessus  and 
Dexamenus’  son-in-law  :  as  thy  great-grandson, 
Saturn,  whom  from  his  own  city  the  son  of  Coronis 

human  sacrifice,  to  put  an  end  to  a  long  drought  (397,  8);  the 
latter  was  slain  at  the  altar  on  which  he  practised  this  rite  of 
Hercules:  with  “sanguine”  therefore  understand  “quo”(his 
own).  “Lemnia  turba,”  if  referring  to  the  Lemnian  women 
who  slew  their  husbands,  comes  in  here  oddly  out  of  place  : 
Housman  reads  “clava,”  which  would  refer  to  Periphetes, 
son  of  Vulcan  the  Lemnian,  who  murdered  strangers  with  a 
club  :  this  would  certainly  fit  the  context  better. 

^  Diomede  of  Thrace. 

’  The  avenger  was  Hercules,  who  slew  Nessus  the  Centaur 
for  trying  to  outrage  Deianira,  and  Eurytion,  also  a  Centaur, 
who  had  compelled  Dexamenus,  father  of  Deianira,  to  betroth 
his  daughter  to  him. 


283 


OVID 


Ut  Sinis  et  Sciron  et  cum  Polypemone  natus  : 

Quique  homo  parte  sui,  parte  iuvencus  erat : 

Quique  trabes  pressas  in  humum  mittebat  in  auras. 
Aequoris  aspiciens  huius  et  huius  aquas  :  410 

Quaeque  Ceres  laeto  vidit  pereuntia  vultu 
Corpora  Thesea  Cercyonea  manu. 

Haec  tibi,  quem  meritis  precibus  mea  devovet  ira. 
Evenient,  aut  his  non  leviora  malis  : 

Qualis  Achaemenides  Sicula  desertus  in  Aetna,  415 
Troica  cum  vidit  vela  venire,  fuit : 

Qualis  erat  nec  non  fortuna  binominis  Iri, 

(Juique  tenent  pontem,  spe  tibi  maior  eidt. 

Filius  et  Cereris  frustra  tibi  semper  ametur, 

Destituatque  tuas  usque  petitus  opes  :  420 

Utque  per  alternos  unda  labente  recursus 
Subtrahitur  presso  mollis  harena  pedi. 

Sic  tua  nescio  qua  semper  fortuna  liquescat, 

Lapsaque  per  medias  effluat  usque  manus. 

Utque  pater  solitae  varias  mutare  figuras,  425 

Plenus  inextincta  conficiare  fame  ; 

Nec  dapis  humanae  tibi  sint  fastidia;  quaque 
Parte  potes,  lydeus  temporis  huius  eris  ; 

418  que  {i.e.  quae)  3IS'S.  (qui  (?) ;  spe  Ilousvian  :  vae  tibi 
talis  erit  Owen. 


^  Periplietes,  son  of  Vulcan,  son  of  Jove,  slain  by  Theseus 
near  Epidaurus,  the  city  of  Aesculapius,  son  of  the  nympli 
Coronis. 

^  The  vai’ious  victims  of  Theseus  :  Procrustes  was  son  of 
Polypemon  ;  1.  408,  the  Minotaur ;  Pityocaniptes,  sometimes 
identified  with  Sinis,  lived  on  the  Isthmus  of  Coi-inth  (410) 
and  slew  strangers  by  bending  down  pine  trees  and  fastening 
human  bodies  to  tliem  and  letting  them  fly  apart,  whence  his 
name,  Pine-bender;  Cercyon  slew  strangers  who  were  on  the 
way  to  the  festival  of  Eleusis. 

284 


IBIS 


saw  expire :  ^  as  Sinis  and  Sciron  and  Polypemon 
Avitli  his  son,  and  he  who  was  joart  man,  part 
bullock ;  and  as  he  who  let  fly  into  the  air  the 
boughs  bent  down  to  the  earth,  and  beheld  the 
waters  of  this  sea  and  of  that :  and  as  the  body  of 
Cercyon  that  Ceres  with  joyful  face  saw  perishing 
by  Theseus’  hand.^ 

Such  ills  befall  thee  whom  my  anger  execrates 
with  merited  curses,  ills  no  less  than  these  !  Such  a 
lot  as  was  that  of  Achaemenides,  abandoned  on 
Sicilian  Etna,  when  he  saw  the  Trojan  sails  approach  :  ^ 
and  that  of  Irus  the  double-named,  and  of  them  who 
haunt  the  bridge,  shall  be  greater  than  thou  canst 
hope  forA  May  the  son  of  Ceres  be  ever  loved  by 
thee  in  vain,  and  ever  for  all  thy  seeking  fail 
thy  fortune  ;  ^  and  as  when  the  wave  by  alternate 
ebbings  glides  away  the  soft  sand  is  withdrawn  from 
the  foot’s  pressure,  so  in  some  subtle  wise  may  thy 
fortune  ever  melt,  and  glide  and  flow  away  ever 
through  thy  hands.  And  like  the  sire  of  her  who  was 
wont  to  change  from  shape  to  shape  though  full  mayst 
thou  be  wasted  by  inextinguishable  hunger  ;  ®  nor 
mayst  thou  shrink  from  human  flesh ;  but  where 
thou  art  strongest  thou  shalt  be  the  Tydeus  of  these 

^  For  Achaemenides  see  Virg.,  Aen.  3.  587  ff.  He  was  a 
famine-stricken  Greek  whom  Ulys.ses  and  his  men  had  for¬ 
gotten  when  they  fled  from  the  Cyclops,  and  left  marooned 
on  the  island. 

*  Irus  was  the  beggar  in  the  Odyssey  (bk.  IS),  also  called 
Ariiacus.  Bridges  were  haunted  by  beggars  (Juv.  4-.  116, 
14,  1.34). 

Plutus,  god  of  wealth. 

®  Erysichthon,  father  of  Alestra  (cf.  Metam.  8.  847  ff.), 
whom  in  order  to  appease  his  insatiable  hunger  he  sold  to 
different  masters  in  turn,  according  as  she  changed  herself 
into  a  bird,  an  ox,  etc. 


285 


OVID 


Atque  aliquid  facias,  a  vespere  Solis  ad  ortus 

Cur  externati  rursus  agantur  equi  ;  430 

Foeda  Lycaoniae  repetes  convivia  mensae, 
Temptabisque  cibi  fallere  fraude  lovem  ; 

Teque  aliquis  posito  temptet  vim  numinis  opto, 
Tantalides  ut  sis  Threiciusque  puer. 

Et  tua  sic  latos  spargantur  membra  per  agros,  435 

Tamquam  quae  patrias  detinuere  vias. 

Aere  Perilleo  veros  imitere  iuvencos. 

Ad  formam  tauri  conveniente  sono. 

Utque  ferox  Phalaris,  lingua  prius  ense  resecta 

More  bovis  Paphio  clausus  in  aere  gemas.  440 

Dumque  redire  voles  aevi  melioris  in  annos. 

Ut  vetus  Admeti  decipiare  socer. 

Aut  eques  in  medii  mergare  voragine  caeni. 

Dummodo  sint  fati  nomina  nulla  tui. 

Atque  utinam  pereas,  veluti  de  dentibus  orti  445 

Sidonia  iactis  Graia  per  arva  manu. 

434  Threiciusque  later  MSS.  :  Tereidesque,  tu  Tereique,  tu 
Teleique,  Tindareique  31SS. 

^  Tydeus  gnawed  liis  eiiemy’s  skull:  “qua  parte  potes,”  t.c. 
your  mouth. 

*  As  did  the  deed  of  Atreus,  when  he  served  up  Thyestes’ 
sons  for  him  to  eat. 

®  The  sons  of  Lycaon  served  up  human  flesh  to  Jove,  who 
slew  them  with  a  thunderbolt. 

286 


IBIS 


days  ;  ^  niayst  thou  do  sucli  a  deed  as  shall  make 
the  horses  of  the  Sun  in  terror  dash  from  evening  to 
the  East  again ;  ^  thou  shalt  repeat  the  foul  banquet 
of  the  Lycaonian  board,  and  try  to  deceive  Jove  with 
counterfeited  food  ;  ®  and  I  pray  that  someone  may 
serve  thee  up  and  provoke  the  god  to  wrath,  that 
thou  mayst  be  Tantalus’  son  and  the  Thracian  child,^ 
And  may  thy  limbs  be  so  scattered  o’er  the  broad 
fields  as  those  which  stayed  a  father’s  march.® 
Mayst  thou  imitate  real  bullocks  with  the  bronze  of 
Perillus,  whilst  thy  cries  match  the  shape  of  the 
bull.  And  like  fierce  Phalaris,  thy  tongue  first 
severed  with  the  sword,  mayst  thou  bellow  like  an 
ox  imprisoned  in  Paphian  bronze.®  And  while  thou 
wishest  to  return  to  years  of  lustier  life,  mayst  thou 
be  deceived  like  the  aged  father-in-law  of  Admetus.’ 
Or  on  horseback  mayst  thou  be  sunk  in  the  midst  of 
a  morass  of  mud,  so  long  as  thy  fate  hath  no  renown.® 
And  wouldst  that  thou  mightest  perish  like  those 
sprung  from  the  teeth  that  a  Sidonian  hand 
scattered  on  Grecian  fields.®  And  may  the  ill- 

■*  Pelops,  served  up  for  the  gods  by  his  father  Tantalus  ; 
Tereus,  king  of  Thrace,  devoured  his  son  at  a  banquet. 

®  Absyrtus,  son  of  Aeetes,  slain  by  Medea  when  escaping 
with  Jason,  to  delay  the  pursuit. 

“  Perillus  made  a  brazen  bull  for  Phalaris,  tyrant  of 
Agrigentum,  and  w'as  himself  imprisoned  in  it ;  Phalaris 
was  himself  burnt  in  the  bull  by  the  people.  Paphos  is  in 
Cyprus,  where  bronze  was  first  made. 

’  Pelias,  whose  daughters  were  persuaded  by  Medea  that 
they  could  restore  him  to  youth  by  boiling  him  in  a  cauldron  ; 
by  this  deception  he  lost  his  life. 

®  As  Curtius,  who  leapt  into  the  chasm  in  Rome,  and 
gained  renown  thereby. 

»  The  famous  dragon’s  teeth  sown  by  Cadmus  of  Phoe¬ 
nicia. 

287 


OVID 


Et  quae  Pittbides  fecit,  de  fratre  Medusae 
Eveniant  capiti  vota  sinistra  tuo  ; 

Et  quibus  exiguo  est  volucris  devota  libello, 

Corpora  proiecta  quae  sua  purgat  aqua.  450 

Vulnera  totque  feras,  quot  dicitur  ille  tulisse. 

Cuius  ab  inferiis  culter  abesse  solet. 

Attonitusque  seces,  ut  quos  Cybeleia  mater 
Incitat,  ad  Phrygios  vilia  membra  modos  ; 

Deque  viro  fias  nec  femina  nec  vir,  ut  Attis,  455 

Et  quatias  molli  tympana  rauca  manu. 

Inque  pecus  subito  Magnae  vertare  parentis, 

Victor  ut  est  celeri  victaque  vei'sa  pede. 

Solaque  Limone  poenam  ne  senserit  illam, 

—  Et  tua.  dente  fero  viscera  carjrat  equus.  460 

Aut  ut  Cassandreus,  domino  non  mitior  illo 
Saucius  ingesta  contumuleris  humo. 

Aut  ut  Abantiades,  aut  ut  Cycneius  heros, 

Clausus  in  aequoreas  praecipiteris  aquas. 

Victima  vel  Phoebo  sacras  macteris  aras,  465 

Quam  tulit  a  saevo  Theudotus  hoste  necem. 

447  Pitthides  Saluagniios :  Penthides,  Pentelidis  MSS.  de 
fratre  MSS. :  fraterque  GFX. 


1  Theseus  was  grandson  of  Pittheus  by  his  mother  Aethra  ; 
he  uttered  dire  threats  against  his  son  Hippolytus,  who  was 
first  cousin  of  Medusa,  her  father  Phorcys  being,  like  Theseus, 
a  son  of  Neptune.  If  “fraterque”  bo  kept,  it  would  refer  to 
Eurystheus,  brother  of  another  Medusa,  who  uttered  curses 
against  Hercules  (Owen,  cf.  Apollodorus  2.  4.  5).  Of.  also  Ellis 
c(d  loc. 

^  A  reference  to  the  Ibis  of  Callimachus  ;  the  ibis  was  an 
Egyptian  bird. 

®  Osiris,  who  was  mangled  by  Typhon;  the  knife  therefore 
was  naturally  objectionable  to  him. 

288 


IBIS 


starred  curses  that  the  son  of  Panthus  uttered 
concerning  Medusa’s  brother  befall  thy  head  :  i  and 
those  too  wherewith  in  a  brief  volume  that  bird  is 
execrated  which  cleanses  its  body  by  throwing  water 
on  it.2  And  as  many  wounds  niayst  thou  suffer  as  he 
is  said  to  have  suffered,  from  whose  rites  the  knife 
is  wont  to  be  absent.®  And  like  those  whom  the 
Cybelean  mother  excites  mayst  thou  in  frenzy  sever 
thy  slighted  parts  to  Phrygian  strains  ;  ^  and  from  a 
man  mayst  thou  become  nor  man  nor  woman,  like 
Attis,  and  with  soft  hand  shake  the  loud  timbrels. 
And  mayst  thou  be  suddenly  turned  into  a  beast  of 
the  Mighty  Mothei’,  as  he  who  won  and  she  who 
lost  the  race  were  turned.®  And  lest  Limone  alone 
endure  that  punishment,  may  thy  flesh  too  be  torn 
by  the  horse’s  savage  tooth.®  Or  like  him  of 
Cassandrea,  no  gentler  than  that  monarch,  mayst 
thou  be  wounded  and  buried  beneath  high-piled 
earth. Or  like  Abantiades  or  the  Cycnean  hero 
mayst  thou  be  hurled,  imprisoned,  into  the  sea’s 
waters.®  Or  mayst  thou  be  slain  a  victim  at  the 
altar  of  sacrifice,  as  Theodotus  suffered  death  from 

*  The  Phrygian  priests  of  Cybele  mutilated  themselves 
under  the  influence  of  wild  pipe-music. 

®  According  to  one  story  Hippomenes  and  Atalanta  were 
turned  into  a  lion  and  a  lioness  by  Jove  for  profaning  his 
temple.  Lions  were  supposed  to  serve  the  Great  Mother. 
Cybele. 

®  The  daughter  of  Hippomenes  referred  to  in  11.  335,  6. 

’  Ellis  explains  of  Ptolemy  Ceraunus,  tyrant  of  Cassandrea 
(Potidaea),  and  as  cruel  as  the  well-known  tyrant  of  that 
place,  i.e.  Apollodorus.  Housman  would  avoid  the  difficulty 
of  “domino  illo  ”  by  inserting  before  this  couplet  11.  439,  440. 

®  Perseus,  great-grandson  of  Abas,  committed  to  the  sea 
with  his  mother  in  a  wooden  chest  ;  Tenes,  son  of  Cycnus, 
w'as  similarly  treated  by  his  father. 

289 

u 


OVID 


470 


475 


Aut  te  devoveat  certis  Abdera  diebus. 

Saxaque  devotum  grandine  plura  petant. 

Aut  lovis  infesti  telo  feriare  trisulco. 

Ut  satus  Hipponoo,  Dexionesque  pater, 

Ut  soror  Autonoes,  ut  cui  matertera  Maia, 

Ut  temere  optatos  qui  male  rexit  equos  ; 

Ut  ferus  Aeolides,  ut  sanguine  natus  eodem. 

Quo  genita  est  liquidis  quae  caret  Arctos  aquis. 

Ut  Macelo  rapidis  icta  est  cum  coniuge  flammis. 

Sic,  precor,  aetherii  vindicis  igne  cadas. 

Praedaque  sis  illis,  quibus  est  Latonia  Delos 
Ante  diem  rapto  non  adeunda  Traso  : 

Quique  verecundae  speculantem  labra  Dianae, 

Quique  Crotopiaden  diripuere  Linum. 

Neve  venenato  levius  feriaris  ab  angue, 

Quam  senis  Oeagri  Calliopesque  nurus  ; 

Quam  puer  Hypsipyles,  quam  qui  cava  primus  acuta 
Cuspide  suspecti  robora  fixit  equi. 

Neve  gradus  adeas  Elpenore  cautius  altos,  485 

Vimque  feras  vini  quo  tulit  ille  modo. 

Tamque  cadas  domitus,  quam  quisquis  ad  arma  vocantem 
luvit  inhumanum  Thiodamanta  Dryops  : 


480 


1  The  “foe”  was  Apollodorus  of  Cassandrea  (see  above,  461), 
but  authorities  give  the  name  of  the  youth  he  put  to  death  as 
Callimeles. 

2  Seems  to  refer  to  a  sort  of  purification  by  sla.ying  a  human 
scapegoat,  like  the  <papfj.aKo'L  at  Athens,  and  Lllis  quotes  an 
occurrence  at  Ephesus  related  by  Philostratus  in  the  life  of 
Apollonius  at  Tyana,  who  advised  the  Ephesians  to  get  rid  of 

a  plague  by  stoning  an  old  man. 

®  Capaneus,  one  of  the  Seven  against  Thebes  (cf.  Statius, 
Theb.  10)  ;  Aesculapius,  for  restoring  a  mortal  to  life^;  Semele; 
Iasion,  who  offered  violence  to  Demeter  ;  I’haethon  ;  Salmoneus 
(cf.  Virg.,  Jen.  6.  585)  ;  a  son  of  Lycaon,  for  the  sin  described 
in  11.  431,  2 ;  the  daughter  of  L.  was  Callisto  who  was  turned 
into  the  Great  Bear,  f.r.  Arctos  ;  the  allusion  in  “  Macelo”  is 
unknown  (there  is  another  reading,  “Macedo,”  equally  obscure). 


290 


IBIS 


his  ruthless  foe.^  Or  may  Abdera  call  curses  upon 
thee  on  certain  days,  and  stones  more  numerous 
than  hail  seek  the  object  of  their  cursing.'^  Or 
mayst  thou  be  struck  by  the  triple  dart  of  angry 
Jove,  like  the  son  of  Hipponous  and  the  sire  of 
Dexione,  like  the  sister  of  Autonoe  and  the  nephew 
of  Maia,  like  him  who  badly  guided  the  rashly 
prayed-for  steeds  ;  like  the  bold  son  of  Aeolus,  like 
him  who  was  born  of  that  same  blood  wherefrom  was 
begotten  Arctos  who  knows  not  liquid  waters,  like 
as  Macelo  with  her  spouse  was  struck  by  devouring 
flames,  so,  I  pray,  mayst  thou  foil  by  a  heavenly 
avenger’s  fire.^  And  mayst  thou  be  a  prey  to  them 
who,  since  they  slew  Trasus  ere  his  time,  may  not 
approach  Latonian  Delos  :  ^  to  them  too  who  tore 
in  pieces  him  Avho  spied  on  chaste  Diana’s  bath,  and 
Linus,  grandson  of  Crotopus.^  Nor  mayst  thou  be 
more  lightly  stung  by  j^oisoned  snake  than  the 
daughter-in-law  of  old  Oeager  and  Calliope  ;  or  than 
Hypsipyle’s  babe,  or  he  who  first  with  sharp  {)oint  of 
spear  transfixed  the  hollow  wood  of  the  suspected 
horse.®  Nor  mayst  thou  climb  the  lofty  steps  more 
cautiously  than  El^ienor,  but  bear,  as  he  bore  it,  the 
potency  of  wine.’  So  mayst  thou  fall  vanquished, 
as  fell  whoe’er  of  the  Dryopians  succoured  the 
churlish  Thiodamas  when  he  called  to  arms as 

*  Trasus,  or  Thasus,  was  a  priest  of  Diana  slain  by  dogs, 
which  therefore  were  not  allowed  in  Delos. 

®  Dogs  slew  Actaeon,  who  was  changed  into  a  stag  for 
seeing  Diana  bathing,  and  tore  in  pieces  the  infant  son  of 
Psamathe  and  Apollo  (Statius,  T/icb.  1.  587  ff. ). 

*  Eurydice,  wife  of  Orpheus  ;  Opheltes  or  Archeniorus 
(cf.  Statius,  Theh.  4.  719  If.) ;  Laocoon,  Virg.,  Aen.  2.  41  ff. 

7  See  Horn.,  Od.  10.  552,  11.  61. 

®  Thiodamas  of  Dryopia  refused  help  to  Hercules  when 
going  to  the  help  of  Hyllus  his  son ;  the  Dryopians  were 
subsequently  subdued  by  Hercules. 


u  2 


291 


OVID 


(Jiiam  ferus  ipse  suo  periit  mactatus  in  antro 
Proditus  inclusae  Cacus  ab  ore  bovis ; 

Quam  qui  dona  tulit  Nesseo  tincta  veneno, 
Euboicasque  suo  sanguine  tinxit  aquas. 

Vel  de  praecipit!  venias  in  Tartara  saxo, 

U  t  qui  Socraticum  de  nece  legit  opus ; 

Ut  qui  Theseae  fallacia  vela  carinae 
Vidit,  ut  Iliaca  missus  ab  arce  puer, 

Ut  teneri  nutrix,  eadem  matertera,  Bacchi, 

Ut  cui  causa  necis  serra  reperta  fuit ; 

Livida  se  scopulis  ut  virgo  misit  ab  altis, 

Dixerat  invicto  quae  mala  verba  deo. 

Feta  tibi  occurrat  patrio  popularis  in  arvo, 

Sitque  Phalaeceae  causa  leaena  necis. 

Quique  Lycurgiden  letavit,  et  arbore  natum, 
Idmonaque  audacem,  te  quoque  rumpat  aper. 

Isque  vel  exanimis  faciat  tibi  vulnus,  ut  illi. 

Ora  super  fixi  quem  cecidere  suis. 

Sive  idem,  simili  pinus  quem  morte  peremit, 

Phryx  et  venator  sis  Berecyntiades. 

Si  tua  contigerit  Minoas  puppis  harenas. 

Te  Corcyraeum  Cressia  turba  putet. 

492  nomino  fecit  G  :  sanguine  linxit  1/56'. 

508  Phryx  et  late  MSS.  :  pliitia,  frixia,  frigia  J)/6'5. 


490 


495 


600 


505 


510 


1  See  Virg.,  Aen.  8.  194  ff.  Lichas,  a  servant  of  Hercules, 
took  the  poisoned  robe  of  Nessus  from  Deianira  to  Hercules  ; 
Euboean,  as  being  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mt.  Oeta. 

2  Cleombrotus,  of.  Anth.  Pal.  7.  471.  Cic.,  pro  Scauro  4  (the 
work  was  the  Phaedo)  ;  Aegeus,  father  of  Theseus  ;  Astyanax, 
sou  of  Hector  ;  luo,  mother  of  Melicertes  (Palaemon)  ;  Perdix 
(Ov  ,  Metam.  8.  236  ff.),  thrown  from  the  Acropolis  at  Athens 
by  his  uncle  Daedalus,  who  was  jealous  of  his  skill  ;  reading 
“livida”  the  reference  is  to  Aglauros,  daughter  of  Cecrops, 
who  was  jealous  of  the  attentions  of  Mercury  to  her  sister 
Herse;  but  the  MSS.  have  “Lindia”  or  “Lidia”  (Lydia)  ;  for 
explanations  of  these  readings  see  Ellis  ad  loc. 

292 


IBIS 


fierce  Cacus  himself  did  perish,  slaughtered  in  his 
own  cave,  and  betrayed  by  the  voice  of  the  imprisoned 
cow  :  or  he  wlio  took  the  gifts  steeped  in  the  poison  of 
Nessus,  and  stained  the  Euboean  waters  with  his 
blood.^  Or  mayst  thou  go  down  to  Tartarus  from  a 
rock’s  sheer  height,  like  him  who  read  the  Socratic 
work  on  death,  like  him  who  saw  the  deceiving  sails 
of  Theseus’  bark,  like  the  boy  flung  from  Ilium’s 
citadel,  like  the  nurse  and  aunt  of  infant  Bacchus, 
like  him  whose  death  came  from  the  saw  that  he 
invented,  or  as  the  jealous  maiden  threw  herself 
from  the  high  cliffs,  wlio  had  said  angry  words  to 
the  invincible  god.^  May  a  lioness  of  thy  land, 
lately  delivered,  meet  thee  in  thy  native  fields,  and 
bring  thee  the  death  Phalaecus  suffered.®  And  may 
the  boar  that  slew  Lycurgus’  son,  and  him  that  was 
born  of  a  tree,  and  courageous  Idmon,  tear  thee  too 
asunder.^  And  even  dying  may  he  wmund  thee,  as 
him  upon  whom  fell  the  head  of  the  boar  he  had 
transfixed.®  Or  mayst  thou  be  at  once  that  Phrygian 
whom  a  pine  tree  slew  with  a  like  fate,  and  the 
huntsman  son  of  Berecyntia.®  If  thy  ship  shall  have 
touched  Minoan  sands,  let  the  Cretan  crowd  deem 

^  Phalaecus  was  a  tyrant  of  Ambracia,  slain  by  a  lioness 
when  he  was  fondling  its  cub. 

*  Ancaeus  the  Argonaut,  slain  in  the  famous  boar  hunt  in 
Aetolia  ;  Adonis,  son  of  Smyrna  (Myrrha),  turned  into  a 
myrrh  tree  ;  Idmon,  the  prophet  of  the  Argonauts. 

^  The  story  is  told  of  a  hunter  who  hung  up  the  head  of  a 
boar  he  had  killed  without  dedicating  it  to  Diana,  as  the 
custom  was,  and  that  he  then  laydown  to  sleep  under  it,  and 
that  the  head  fell  down  and  killed  him  in  his  sleep. 

“  The  line  is  corrupt,  but  the  poet  seems  to  be  playing  on 
the  existence  in  legend  of  two  persons  of  the  name  of  Attis, 
one  a  hunter  slain  by  a  boar  (“  ven.  Berec,”),  the  other  the 
Attis  who  mutilated  himself  under  a  pine  tree. 


293 


OVID 


Lapsuvamque  domum  subeas,  ut  sanguis  Aleuae, 

Stella  Leoprepidae  cum  fuit  aequa  viro. 

Utque  vel  Euenus,  torrenti  flumine  mei  sus 
Nomina  des  rapidae,  vel  Tiberinus,  aquae. 
Astacidaeque  modo  decisa  cadavere  trunco,  515 

Digna  feris,  hominis  sit  caput  esca  tuum. 

Quodque  ferunt  Brotean  fecisse  cupidine  mortis. 

Des  tua  succensae  membra  cremanda  pyrae. 

Inclusque  necem  cavea  patiaris,  ut  ille 

Non  profecturae  conditor  historiae.  520 

Utque  repertori  nocuit  pugnacis  iambi. 

Sic  sit  in  exitium  lingua  proterva  tuum. 

Utque  parum  stabili  qui  carmine  laesit  Athenas, 

Invisus  pereas  deficiente  cibo. 

Utque  lyrae  vates  fertur  periisse  severae,  625 

Causa"  sit  exitii  dextera  laesa  tui. 

Utque  Agamemnonio  vulnus  dedit  anguis  Oresti, 

Tu  quoque  de  morsu  virus  habente  cadas. 

515  Astacidae  Conrad  de  Mure:  ytacide,  liirtacide  MSS. 
defi.xa  other  MSS.  :  decisa  BH.  cadavera  MS8.  :  cadavere 
Heinsiiis, 


1  The  Corcyreans  tried  to  prevent  the  Cretans  from  bringing 
the  bones  of  Minos  from  Sicily  to  Crete. 

2  The  son  of  L.  was  Simonides,  the  seed  of  A.  was  Scopas, 
a  Thessalian  noble  ;  Simonides,  when  dining  with  Scopas,  was 
summoned  out  of  the  room  ;  in  the  interval  the  house  collapsed, 
killing  Scopas  and  the  other  guests  ;  “  stella,”  of  the  Dioscuri, 
for  two  youths  were  announced  to  be  asking  for  Sim.,  but  when 
he  went  out  he  saw  nobody  (Cic.,  de  Oral.  2.  86). 

®  Evenus  threw  himself  into  the  Lycormas,  a  river  of  Aetolia, 
which  Avas  called  after  him  ;  Tiberinus,  an  early  king  of  Alba, 
fell  into  the  Tiber,  so  called  after  him. 

*  Menalippus,  whose  head  was  gnawed  by  Tydeus  (Statius 
Thch.  8  suh  Jin.). 

**  Brotea  appears  to  be  the  same  as  Biothea  or  Axiothea, 
wife  of  Nicocreon,  king  of  Cyprus,  who  threw  herself  into 

294 


IBIS 


thee  a  Coi’cyi'ean.^  And  mayst  thou  enter  a  house 
doomed  to  fall,  like  the  seed  of  Aleuas,  when  the 
star  was  propitious  to  Leoprepes’  famous  son.^  Or 
like  Evenus,  drowned  in  a  river  torrent,  or  Tiberinus, 
mayst  thou  give  thy  name  to  the  rapid  stream.® 
And  like  Astacides  may  thy  head  be  cut  from  thy 
truncated  corpse,  and,  though  deserving  of  beasts, 
be  food  for  a  man.^  And  that  which  they  say 
Brotea  did  in  longing  for  death,  mayst  thou  give  thy 
limbs  to  be  burnt  upon  the  kindled  pyre.®  And 
wliile  imprisoned  mayst  thou  suffer  a  violent  death, 
as  he  who  wrote  the  history  that  would  profit  him 
naught.®  And  as  it  hurt  the  inventor  of  the 
quarrelsome  iambus,  so  may  a  wayward  tongue  be 
for  thy  destruction.^  And  like  him  who  harmed 
Athens  with  his  halting  song  mayst  thou  perish, 
hated,  by  failure  of  food.®  And  as  the  poet  of  the 
austere  lyre  is  said  to  have  perished,  may  an  injured 
hand  be  the  cause  of  thy  death.®  And  as  the 
serpent  wounded  Orestes,  Agamemnon  s  son,  so 
mayst  thou  too  fall  by  a  poisoned  bite.^®  May  the 

the  fire  to  die  with  her  husband ;  but  there  is  considerable 
doubt,  and  the  reference  may  be  to  Broteas,  a  son  of  Jove, 
who  threw  himself  into  the  fire  when  blinded  by  his  father, 
or  even  Hercules  Bruttius  (Ellis,  Excursus,  ad  loc.). 

«  Callisthenes,  a  historian  of  Alexander’s  wars,  suspected 
by  A.  of  conspiring  against  him,  mutilated  and  imprisoned, 
and  then  given  poison. 

7  Archilochus,  who,  however,  is  commonly  supposed  to 
have  been  killed  in  battle.  ®  Reference  unknown. 

»  “  Hextera  laesa”  is  sometimes  taken  as  =  “  broken 
faith.”  and  explained  of  Timocreon,  who  accused  Themis¬ 
tocles  of  playing  him  false  in  the  matter  of  his  exile  on  the 
charge  of  Medism  :  “exilii  ”  then  would  be  read.  Otherwise 
the  point  is  unknown.  _  . 

According  to  one  legend  Orestes  is  said  to  have  perished 
in  this  way. 

295 


OVID 


Sit  tibi  coniugii  nox  prima  novissima  vitae  : 

Eupolis  hoc  periit  et  nova  nupta  modo.  630 

Utque  cothurnatum  cecidisse  Lycophrona  narrant, 
Haereat  in  fibris  fixa  sagitta  tuis. 

Aut  lacer  in  silva  manibus  spargare  tuorum, 

Sparsus  ut  est  Thebis  angue  creatus  avo. 

Perque  feros  montes  tauro  rapiente  traharis,  535 

Ut  tracta  est  coniunx  imperiosa  Lyci. 

Quodque  suae  passa  est  paelex  invita  sororis. 

Excidat  ante  pedes  lingua  resecta  tuos. 

Conditor  ut  tardae,  laesus  cognomine,  Myrrhae, 

Orbis  in  innumeris  inveniare  locis.  540 

Inque  tuis  opifex,  vati  quod  fecit  Achaeo, 

Noxia  luminibus  spicula  condat  apis. 

Fixus  et  in  duris  carparis  viscera  sa.vis. 

Ut  cui  Pyrrha  sui  filia  fratris  erat. 

Ut  puer  Harpagides  referas  exempla  Thyestae,  545 
Inque  tui  caesus  viscera  patris  eas. 

Trunca  geras  saevo  mutilatis  partibus  ense. 

Qualia  Mamertae  membra  fuisse  ferunt. 

Utque  Syracosio  praestricta  fauce  poetae. 

Sic  animae  laqueo  sit  via  clausa  tuae.  550 

539  conditor  iTy:  cognitor 

548  Mamertae  F:  inimerti,  mimnermi  varimis  3ISS.:  Mamerci 
Owen. 

1  Ellis  compares  Anth.  Pal.  7.  298. 

^  The  mention  of  Lycophron  as  a  tragic  poet  refers  to  his 
A  lexandra. 

Pentheus,  torn  hy  the  Bacchanals,  grandson  of  Cadmus, 
who  was  turned  into  a  snake. 

^  Dirce  suffered  this  fate  at  the  hands  of  the  sons  of  Antiope, 
Amphion  and  Zethus,  for  the  treatment  of  their  mother.  Lj’cus 
was  a  king  of  Thebes. 

^  Philomela,  ravished  by  Tereus,  and  sister  of  his  wife  Procne. 
®  The  reference  is  to  a  poem  entitled  FSmyrna,  written  b}' 
C.  Helvius  Cinna  ;  its  tardy  appearance  after  nine  years  is  men- 
296 


IBIS 


first  night  of  wedlock  be  the  last  of  thy  life  :  in  this 
fashion  perished  Eupolis  and  his  new  bride.^  And 
as  they  relate  that  buskined  Lycophron  fell,  so  in 
thy  flesh  may  the  barb  stick  last.^  Or  rent  asunder 
mayst  thou  be  strewn  in  the  woods  by  thine  own 
kin,  as  at  Thebes  he  was  strewn  who  was  born  of  the 
serpent’s  son.^  And  over  wild  mountains  mayst 
thou  be  dragged  by  a  tearing  bull,  as  was  dragged 
the  imperious  spouse  of  LycusA  And,  what  the 
unwilling  rival  of  her  own  sister  suffered,  may  thy 
tongue  cut  out  fall  before  thy  feet.®  And  like  the 
author  of  tardy  Myrrha,  whose  surname  wrought  him 
harm,  mayst  thou  be  found  in  countless  places  of  the 
world.®  And  may  the  craftsman  bee,  as  he  did  to 
the  Achaean  seer,  bury  in  thine  eyes  his  noxious 
dart.'^  And  chained  on  the  hard  rocks  mayst  thou 
have  thine  entrails  torn,  as  he  whose  brother’s 
daughter  Pyrrha  was.®  Like  the  young  son  of 
Harpagus  mayst  thou  recall  the  example  of  Thyestes, 
and  carved  in  pieces  enter  thy  father’s  bowels.® 
Mayst  thou  have  limbs  maimed  and  parts  mutilated 
by  the  savage  sword,  as  they  say  were  those  of 
Mamertas.^®  And  as  with  the  Syracusan  bard  whose 
throat  was  sti'angled,  so  may  a  noose  stop  the  way 

tioned  by  Catullus  (95).  Ciiina  was  torn  in  pieces  by  the  mob 
after  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar,  being  mistaken  for  Cornelius 
Cinna,  the  conspirator.  ’’  Reference  unknown. 

8  Epimetheus,  father  of  Pyrrha,  was  brother  of  Prometheus. 

9  Harpagus  was  a  friend  of  Astyages  the  Mede,  who, 
finding  that  he  had  allowed  Cyrus  to  live,  against  his  orders 
slew  his  son  and  served  him  up  for  his  father  to  eat. 

1»  This  Mamertas  is  thought  by  Ellis  to  be  the  same  as  the 
Mamercus  wdio  is  told  of  in  Plutarclfis  1  and  by  other 

authors  j  he  was  a  tyrant  of  Catana,  and  an  enemy  of 
Timoleon  ;  being  finally  captured  he  was  “executed  like  a 
pirate,”  apparently  some  cruel  method  of  execution. 

297 


OVID 


Nudave  derepta  pateant  tua  viscera  pelle, 

Ut  Phrygium  cuius  nomina  flumen  habet. 

Saxificae  videas  infelix  ora  Medusae, 

Cephenum  multos  quae  dedit  una  neci. 

Potniadum  morsus  subeas,  ut  Glaucus,  equarum,  655 
Inque  maris  salias,  Glaucus  ut  alter,  aquas. 

Utque  duobus  idem  dictis  modo  nomen  habenti. 
Praefocent  animae  Gnosia  mella  viam. 

Sollicitoque  bibas,  Anyti  doctissimus  olim 

Imperturbato  quod  bibit  ore  reus.  560 

Nec  tibi,  siquid  amas,  felicius  Haemone  cedat : 

Utque  sua  Maeareus,  sic  potiare  tua. 

Vel  videas,  quod  iam  cum  flammae  cuncta  tenerent, 
Hectoreus  patria  vidit  ab  arce  puer. 

Sanguine  probra  luas,  ut  avo  genitore  creatus,  565 

Per  facinus  soror  est  cui  sua  facta  parens. 

Ossibus  inque  tuis  teli  genus  haei-eat  illud. 

Traditur  Icarii  quo  cecidisse  gener. 

Utque  loquax  in  equo  est  elisum  guttur  acerno. 

Sic  tibi  claudatur  pollice  vocis  iter.  570 

558  Gnosia  edd. :  noxia  GVX. 


1  Usually  explained  of  Theocritus,  but  without  any  evidence. 

2  Marsyas  ;  see  Ov.,  Metum.  6.  400. 

“  Cepheus  was  the  father  of  Andromeda,  and  resisted  the 
attempt  of  Perseus  to  carry  her  off  ;  whereupon  many  of  tiie 
Cephenians  were  turned  to  stone  the  Gorgon’s  head. 

*  Glaucus  of  Potniae  in  Boeotia  fed  mares  on  human  flesh, 
but  was  devoured  by  them  ;  G.  of  Anthedon  was  a  fisherman, 
who  became  a  sea-god  and  a  prophet  (Ov.,  Metum.  13.  905).  G  , 
infant  son  of  Minos,  fell  into  a  jar  of  honey  and  was  suffocated.’ 

®  Socrates  the  philosopher  was  accused  by  Anytus,  and 
condemned  to  drink  the  hemlock. 

“  Haemon  was  the  son  of  Creon,  king  of  Thebes,  who  loved 
Antigone,  and  slew  himself  when  she  was  condemned  to  be 
buried  alive  j  Macareus  and  the  daughter  of  Aeolus,  who  were 
lovers,  slew  themselves. 

298 


IBIS 


of  thy  breath.’^  Or  may  thy  flesh  be  exposed  by 
stripping  off  the  skin,  like  him  whose  name  a 
Phrygian  river  bears. ^  Mayst  thou  in  evil  hour  see 
the  face  of  Medusa  that  turns  to  stone,  who  alone 
gave  many  of  the  Cephenians  to  death. ^  Like 
Glaucus  mayst  thou  suffer  the  bites  of  Potnian  mares, 
and  like  another  Glaucus  leap  into  the  waters  of  the 
sea.  And  like  him  who  hath  the  same  name  as  the 
two  aforesaid  may  Gnosian  honey  choke  thy  breath.^ 
And  with  harassed  countenance  mayst  thou  drink 
what  once  the  learned  prisoner  of  Anytus  drank 
with  countenance  unperturbed.®  Nor  if  thou 
lovest  at  all  may  it  turn  out  more  happily  for 
thee  than  for  Haemon,  and  as  Macareus  possessed 
his  mistress  so  mayst  thou  thine.®  Or  mayst  thou  see 
what  Hector’s  son  saw  from  his  native  citadel,  when 
already  the  flames  were  mastering  all.'^  Mayst  thou 
atone  thy  shame  with  blood,  as  he  whose  grandske 
was  the  father  that  begot  him,  by  whose  crime  his 
own  parent  was  made  his  sister.®  And  in  thy  bones 
may  that  kind  of  weapon  stick  fast,  whereby  Icarius’ 
son-in-law  is  said  to  have  fallen.®  And  as  the 
chattering  throat  was  crushed  in  the  maple  hoi’se,  so 
may  a  thumb  close  the  passage  of  thy  voice.i®  Or 

’  i.e.  the  enemy  in  possession  of  the  city. 

®  Adonis  was  born  of  Myrrha  by  her  father  Cinyras,  and 

killed  by  a  boar.  „  , 

®  Odysseus  was  killed  by  his  son  Telegonus  (by  Circe),  by 
the  sting  of  an  “acantlius  ”  or  rpvydv  (sting  ray) ;  there  was 
a  play  of  Sophocles  entitled  Ochysseus  AcaiUhnplex.  Penelope 
was  daughter  of  Icarius. 

Anticius  was  in  the  -wmoden  horse,  and  was  only  pre¬ 
vented  from  answering  Helen  when  she  imitated  the  voices 
of  the  wives  of  the  Greek  warriors  by  Ulysses  choking  him 
with  his  hand  (cf.  Horn.,  Od.  4.  271  ff.). 


299 


OVID 


Aut  ut  Anaxai’chus  pila  minuaris  in  alta, 

Ictaque  pro  solitis  frugibus  ossa  sonent. 

Utque  patrem  Psamathes,  condat  te  Phoebus  in  ima 
Tartara,  quod  natae  fecerat  ille  suae. 

Inque  tuos  ea  pestis  eat,  quam  dexti'a  Coroebi  575 

Vicit,  opem  miseris  Argolisinque  tulit. 

Utque  nepos  Aethrae,  Veneris  moriturus  ob  iram, 

Exui  ab  attonitis  excutiaris  equis. 

Propter  opes  magnas  ut  perdidit  hospes  alumnum. 
Perdat  ob  exiguas  te  tuus  hospes  opes.  580 

Utque  ferunt  caesos  sex  cum  Damasichthone  fratres. 
Intereat  tecum  sic  genus  omne  tuum. 

Addidit  ut  fidicen  miseris  sua  funera  natis. 

Sic  tibi  sint  vitae  taedia  iusta  tuae. 

Utve  soror  Pelopis,  saxo  dureris  oborto,  585 

Et  laesus  lingua  Battus  ab  ipse  sua. 

Aera  si  misso  liquidum  iaculabere  disco. 

Quo  puer  Oebalides,  ictus  ab  orbe  cadas. 

Siqua  per  alternos  pulsabitur  unda  lacertos. 

Omnis  Abydena  sit  tibi  peior  aqua.  590 


1  Anaxarchus  was  an  enemy  of  Nicocreon,  tyrant  of  Cyprus, 
and  falling  into  liis  power  was  pounded  in  a  mortar. 

“  Psamathe  was  the  daughter  of  Crotopus,  king  of  Argos, 
and  bore  a  child  to  Apollo  (cf.  1.  ■1-80)  ;  her  father  is  nowhere 
else  stated  to  have  put  his  daughter  to  death.  Apollo,  angry 
at  the  death  of  the  child,  sent  a  monster  to  plague  Argos,  and 
m.any  children  perished,  till  Coroebus  slew  it,  and  defied  the 
wrath  of  Apollo  (cf.  Statiu.s,  Theh.  1.  562  ft'.). 

^  Hippolytus,  son  of  Theseus,  refused  the  love  of  Phaedra 
his  stepmother,  and  was  accused  bj’  her  of  outrage;  Theseus 

300 


IBIS 


like  Aiiaxarchus  iiiayst  thou  be  crushed  small  in  a 
deep  mortar,  and  thy  pounded  bones  sound  like  the 
wonted  grainA  And  like  Psamathe’s  sire  may 
Phoebus  bury  thee  in  lowest  Tartarus,  as  he  had 
done  to  his  own  daughter.  And  on  thy  kindred 
may  that  pestilence  fall,  which  the  might  of  Coroebus 
overcame  and  brought  succour  to  the  poor  Argive 
woinen.2  And  as  Aethra’s  grandson,  doomed  to  die 
by  ^^enus’  wrath,  niayst  thou  be  hurled,  an  exile, 
from  terror-stricken  steeds.^  As  the  host  slew  his 
Avard  for  his  great  wealth,  so  for  thy  little  Avealth 
may  thy  host  slay  thee.'^  And  as  they  say  his  six 
brethren  perished  Avith  Damasichthon,  so  may  all  thy 
race  jAerish  Avith  thee.’^  As  the  harper  completed  Avith 
his  OAvn  his  Avretched  children’s  deaths,  so  mayst  thou 
Avith  reason  grow  weary  of  thy  life.®  Or  like  Pelops’ 
sister  mayst  thou  harden  Avith  a  groAvth  of  stone,  or 
like  Battus  harmed  by  his  oAvn  tongue.’^  If  thou 
Avilt  launch  the  disk  and  hurl  it  at  the  liquid  air, 
mayst  thou  fall  struck  by  the  circle  that  sIcav  the 
A  oung  Oebalides.®  If  with  alternate  arm  thou  Avilt 
beat  the  wave,  may  every  strait  be  more  dangerous 
to  thee  than  that  of  Abydos.®  As  the  comic  AAU’iter 

cursed  him,  and  he  Avas  killed  by  his  horses  taking  fright  at 
a  sea-monster  sent  by  Neptune. 

*  Polydorus  was  killed  by  his  host  Polymestor  for  the  gold 
he  had. 

5  They  were  tlie  seven  sons  of  Niobe,  slain  by  Apollo. 

“  Amphion,  husband  of  Niobe,  took  his  own  life. 

’  Niobe  was  sister  of  Pelops,  and  daughter  of  Tantalus  ; 
Battus  was  changed  into  stone  for  deceiving  Mercury  in  the 
matter  of  some  stolen  cattle. 

®  Hyacinthus,  son  of  Oebalus,  king  of  Sparta,  a  favourite 
of  Apollo,  Avas  killed  by  him  in  error  while  throwing  the 
discus. 

^  The  reference  is  to  Leander. 


301 


OVID 


Comicus  ut  mediis  periit^  dum  nabat,  in  undis, 

Et  tua  sic  Stygius  strangulet  ora  liquor. 

Aut  ubi  ventosum  superaris  naufragus  aequor, 

Contacta  pareas,  ut  Palinurus,  humo. 

Utque  cothurnatum  vatem  tutela  Dianae,  695 

Dilaniet  vigilum  te  quoque  turba  canum. 

Aut  ut  Trinacrius  salias  super  ora  gigantis. 

Plurima  qua  flammas  Sicanis  Aetna  vomit. 
Diripiantque  tuos  insanis  unguibus  artus 

Str3'moniae  matres,  Orpheos  esse  ratae.  GOO 

Natus  ut  Althaeae  flammis  absentibus  arsit. 

Sic  tuus  ardescat  stipitis  igne  rogus. 

Ut  nova  Phasiaca  comprensa  est  nupta  corona, 

Utque  pater  nuptae,  cumque  parente  domus; 

Ut  eruor  Herculeos  abiit  diffusus  in  artus;  605 

Corpora  pestiferum  sic  tua  virus  edat. 

Qua  sua  Penthaliden  proles  est  ulta  Lycurgum, 

Haec  maneat  teli  te  quoque  plaga  novi. 

Utque  Milo  robur  diducere  fissile  temptes. 

Nec  possis  captas  inde  referre  manus.  610 

Muneribusque  tuis  laedaris,  ut  Icarus,  in  quem 
Intulit  armatas  ebina  turba  manus. 

Quodque  dolore  necis  patriae  pia  filia  fecit. 

Vincula  per  laquei  fac  tibi  guttur  eat. 

607  penteliden  .  .  .  Lycurgum,  pentiladen,  j)®iitliiden, 
Lycinum  MSS.  :  Pratalideii  .  .  .  Lycastum  Eliis  (Am.  Journ. 
Phil.  33.  205). 

1  Explained  variously  of  Eupolis,  Menander  and  Terence. 

^  See  Virg.,  Aon.  6.  355.  P.  was  the  helmsman  of  Aeneas. 

®  Euripides  was  said  to  have  perished  thus.  “Diana’s 
guardians  ”  are  hunting  hounds. 

^  Empedocles  the  philosopher.  The  volcano  was  supposed 
to  cover  one  of  the  Giants. 

®  Strymonian,  i.e.  Thracian. 

®  Meleager,  son  of  Althaea,  was  caused  to  die  by  the  burning 
of  a  brand,  on  which  his  own  life  depended. 

302 


IBIS 


perished  in  mid-water  as  he  swam,  thy  mouth  too 
may  the  Stygian  wave  thus  stifle.^  Or  when  ship¬ 
wrecked  thou  hast  o’ercome  the  windy  sea,  mayst 
thou  die  like  Palinurus  after  gaining  land.^  And  as 
Diana’s  guardians  tore  the  tragic  bard,  so  may  a 
crowd  of  watchful  hounds  tear  thee  in  pieces.®  Or 
like  the  Trinacrian  mayst  thou  leap  into  the  giant’s 
mouth,  where  in  full  might  Sicanian  Aetna  vomits 
flames.*  And  may  Strymonian  mothers  rend  thy 
limbs  with  frenzied  nails,  deeming  them  those  of 
Orpheus.®  As  absent  flames  consumed  Althaea’s 
son,  so  may  a  firebrand  kindle  thy  funeral  pile.®  As 
the  new  bride  took  fire  from  the  Phasian  garland, 
and  the  sire  of  the  bride,  and  with  her  sire  the 
house  ;  as  the  gore  ran  diffused  through  the  limbs  of 
Hercules,  so  may  pe.stilent  poison  devour  thy  frame.^ 
As  his  own  offspring  was  revenged  upon  Lycurgus, 
so  may  the  stroke  of  a  strange  weapon  await  thee 
also.®  And  like  Milo  mayst  thou  strive  to  draw 
apart  the  split  oak  tree,  nor  be  able  to  draw  back 
thence  thy  captured  arms.®  And  mayst  thou  be 
hurt  by  thine  own  gifts,  as  Icarus  against  whom  the 
drunken  crowd  brought  armed  violence.  And  as 
did  the  loving  daughter  in  grief  at  her  father’s  death, 
make  thy  throat  to  enter  the  rope’s  noose.*®  And 

’  Creusa,  wife  of  .Jason,  and  Hercules  were  both  destroyed 
by  poisonous  robes,  the  one  purposely  by  Medea  (of  Phasian 
Colchis),  the  other  in  error  by  Deianira’s  gift.  The  blood 
was  that  of  Nessus  the  Centaur. 

8  There  is  a  doubtful  reading  here  ;  and  no  explanation  of 
the  couplet  is  known. 

»  Milo  was  a  famous  wrestler  of  Croton  in  S.  Italy. 

1“  Icarus  was  slain  by  a  drunken  crowd  in  Attica  to  whom 
he  had  taught  the  culture  of  the  vine  (Icarius  is  the  usual 
form  of  the  name)  ;  his  daughter  Erigone  in  grief  for  his 
death  hanged  herself. 

303 


OVID 


Obstructoque  famem  patiaris  limine  tecti,  615 

Ut  legem  poenae  cui  dedit  ipsa  parens. 

Illius  exemplo  violes  simulacra  Minervae, 

Aulidis  a  portu  qui  leve  vertit  iter. 

Naupliadaeve  modo  poenas  pro  crimine  falso 

Morte  luas,  nec  te  non  meruisse  iuvet.  620 

Aethalon  ut  vita  spoliavit  Isindius  hospes, 

Quem  memor  a  sacris  nunc  quoque  pellit  Ion  : 

Utque  Melanthea  tenebris  a  caede  latentem 
Prodidit  officio  luminis  ipsa  parens  : 

Sic  tua  coniectis  fodiantur  pectora  telis,  625 

Sic  precor  auxiliis  impediare  tuis. 

Qualis  equos  j^acto,  quos  fortis  agebat  Achilles, 

Acta  Phrygi  timido,  nox  tibi  talis  eat. 

Nec  tu  quam  Rhesus  somno  meliore  quiescas. 

Quam  comites  Rhesi  tum  necis,  ante  viae  ;  630 

Quam  quos  cum  Rutulo  morti  Ramnete  dederunt 
Impiger  Hyrtacides  Hyrtacidaeque  comes. 

Cliniadaeve  modo  circumdatus  ignibus  atris 
Membra  feras  Stygiae  semicremata  neci. 


1  Pausanias,  king  of  Sparta,  when  condemned  to  death  was 
shut  up  in  the  temple  of  Athene  Chalcioecus,  and  walled  in 
there ;  his  mother  was  among  the  first  to  bring  stones  for  that 
purpose. 

“  i.e.  may  you  commit  sacrilege  like  Ulysses,  who  stole  the 
Palladium.  No  satisfactory  explanation  of  1.  618. 

®  Palamedes,  falsely  accused  of  treachery  by  Ulysses  and  put 
to  death. 

^  An  Isindian  (of  Isindos,  an  Ionian  city)  slew  a  guest  named 
Aethalos,  whence  Isindians  were  barred  from  the  Pan-ionian 
festival.  See  Ellis,  ad  loc. 

®  See  Horn.,  Od.  19.  ,386.  But  at  this  time,  when  Ulysses  was 
having  his  legs  washed  and  sat  in  the  gloom  to  avoid  being 
recognised,  he  had  not  yet  killed  the  traitor  Melantheus,  but 
was  only  planning  it ;  Ovid  may  have  thought  he  had  done  the 
deed.  He  was  nearly  betrayed  by  his  mother  (see  19.  473). 

304 


IBIS 


mayst  thou  suffer  starvation  from  the  blocking  of  the 
door  of  thy  house,  as  he  whose  own  mother  decreed 
his  punishment.^  Mayst  thou  violate  Minerva’s  image 
after  his  examjffe  who  turned  aside  the  rash  journey 
from  Aulis’  haven.^  Or  like  the  son  of  Nauplius 
mayst  thou  pay  by  death  the  penalty  of  a  false 
charge,  nor  find  pleasure  in  thy  innocence.®  As  the 
Isindian  host  deprived  Aethalus  of  life,  whom  the 
unforgetting  Ionian  debars  e’en  now  from  the  sacred 
rites ;  ^  and  as  his  own  mother  by  the  aid  of  light 
revealed  him  that  lurked  in  darkness  after  the  slay¬ 
ing  of  Melantheus,®  so  may  hurled  weapons  pierce 
thy  breast,  so,  I  pray,  may  thine  own  helpers  hinder 
thee.  As  passed  the  night  for  the  timorous  Phrygian 
who  bargained  the  steeds  that  valiant  Achilles 
drove,  so  may  the  night  pass  for  thee.®  Nor  mayst 
thou  repose  with  better  slumber  than  Rhesus,  or 
than  they  who  bore  Rhesus  company,  first  on  the 
road,  then  in  death ;  or  than  those  whom  bold 
Hyrtacides  and  the  comrade  ot  Plyrtacides  slew  with 
Rutulian  Ramnes. ®  Or  like  the  son  of  Clinias, 
surrounded  by  venomous  flames  mayst  thou  take  thy 
charred  limbs  to  Stygian  death.®  And  as  with 

®  Dolon  (II.  10)  made  a  bargain  with  Hector  that  he  should 
have  Achilles’  horses  if  he  brought  back  news  from  the 
Greek  camp  whether  they  were  planning  retreat  or  not. 

^  Rhesus  was  a  Thracian  prince  whose  camp  was  raided  by 
Ulysses  and  Diomede,  himself  slain  and  his  horses  driven  to 
the  Greek  camp  ;  it  was  while  out  scouting  that  Ulj'sses  met 
Dolon  and  heard  about  Rhesus  and  his  steeds.  Twelve  of 
his  comrades  were  slain  in  the  raid  with  Rhesus. 

®  Nisus  was  the  son  of  Hyrtacus  ;  he  and  his  friend 
Euryalus  are  the  heroes  of  an  exploit  in  Aeu,  9.  Ramnes 
was  one  of  the  Rutulians  whom  they  slew. 

**  Alcibiades  perished  by  being  burnt  in  a  cottage  in  which 
he  was  sleeping. 

30s 


X 


OVID 


Utque  Remo  muros  auso  transire  recentes. 

Noxia  sint  capiti  rustica  tela  tuo. 

Denique  Sarmaticas  inter  Geticasque  sagittas 
His  precor  ut  vivas  et  moriare  locis. 

Haec  tibi  tantisper  subito  sint  missa  libello, 
Inmemores  ne  nos  esse  querare  tui. 

Pauca  quidem,  fateor  :  sed  di  dent  plura  rogatis, 
Multiplicentque  suo  vota  favore  mea. 
Postmodo  plura  leges  et  nomen  habentia  verum, 
Et  pede  quo  debent  acria  bella  geri. 


306 


IBIS 


Remus  ^  who  dared  to  o’erleap  the  rising  wall,  may 
rustic  weapons  be  hurtful  to  thy  head.  Finally,  I 
pray  that  among  Sarmatian  and  Getic  arrows,  that  in 
these  regions  ^  thou  mayst  live  and  die. 

Receive  this  message  meanwhile  that  my  hasty 
volume  brings,  lest  thou  complain  I  have  forgot 
thee.  Brief  is  it,  I  confess ;  but  may  the  gods  give 
more  than  they  are  asked,  and  by  their  favour  send 
my  prayer  manifold  increase.  Thou  shalt  read  more 
anon,  bearing  thine  own  true  name,  and  writ  in  a 
measure  wherein  bitter  wars  rightly  should  be 
waged. 

1  Remus  was  killed  by  his  brother  Romulus  for  leaping  in 
contempt  over  the  wall  he  was  building  for  the  city  of 
Rome, 

“  i.e.  in  Tomi  (in  Scythia),  whence  Ovid  is  writing. 


X  2 


307 


'T  I 


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M  ir  'w.!-  .  </.  .-■  ■ . -r''^ '  fvv 

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ON  SEA-FISHING 


HALIEUTICON 


Accepit  mundus  legem  ;  dedit  arma  per  omnes 
Admonuitque  sui.  vitulus  sic  namque  minatur, 

Qui  nondum  gerit  in  tenera  iam  cornua  fronte. 

Sic  dammae  fugiunt,  pugnant  virtute  leones 

Et  morsu  canis  et  caudae  sic  scorpius  ictu  6 

Concussisque  levis  pennis  sic  evolat  ales. 

Omnibus  ignotae  mortis  timor,  omnibus  hostem 
Praesidiumque  datum  sentire  et  noscere  teli 
Vimque  modumque  sui.  sic  et  scarus  arte  sub  undis 

Si  n . 10 

Decidit  adsumptamque  dolo  tandem  pavet  escam. 

Non  audet  radiis  obnixa  occurrere  fronte. 

Aversus  crebro  vimen  sed  verbere  caudae 
Laxans  subsequitur  tutumque  evadit  in  aequor. 

Quin  etiam  si  forte  aliquis,  dum  praenatat,  arto  15 
Mitis  luctantem  scaiais  hunc  in  vimine  vidit. 

Aversi  caudam  morsu  tenet  atque  ita  <vellit> 

Libera  ut  e  nassa  quae  texit  praeda  resultet. 

Sepia  tarda  fugae  tenui  cum  forte  sub  unda 
Deprensa  est  (iam  iamque  manus  timet  hilla  rapaces),  20 

13  sub  MSS. 

18  The  above  is  Vollmer’s  suggestion  for  the  corrupt  reading 
of  MSS.  ;  Owen  reads  “atque  ligati  ]  tutor  servato  quem  texit 
cive  resultat.” 

20  illa  MSS. :  hilla  Birt. 

^  The  parrot-wrasse  (scarus  cretensis),  mentioned  by  Horaee, 
Ep,  2.  50,  Sat.  2.  2.  22,  by  Pliny,  N.H,  9.  62  “nunc  principatus 
scaro  datur,”  and  Galen,  De  alim.  fac.  3. 

310 


ON  SEA-FISHING 


.  .  .The  universe  reeeived  the  law  ;  to  all  he  did 
give  arms,  and  reminded  them  of  himself.  For  thus 
threatens  the  calf,  who  beai's  no  horns  as  yet  on  his 
young  forehead ;  thus  do  hinds  flee,  lions  fight  with 
valour,  and  dogs  with  their  teeth,  and  the  scorpion 
with  the  stroke  of  his  tail,  and  thus  with  a  light 
shaking  of  his  pinions  does  the  bird  fly  away.  In  all 
is  the  fear  of  a  death  they  know  not,  to  all  is  given 
to  be  aware  of  their  enemy  and  how  to  guard  against 
him,  and  to  know  the  force  and  measure  of  their 
own  weapon.  Thus  the  Scar,i  if  cunningly  (lured) 
beneath  the  waves  he  has  fallen  into  (a  wicker  trap)  ^ 

.  .  and  only  fears  the  bait  when  tricked  into 
seizing  it,  ventures  not  with  opposing  forehead  to 
dash  against  the  rods,  but  turning  away  loosens 
the  wicker-work  with  much  lashing  of  his  tail,  and 
wriggling  out  escapes  into  the  safety  of  the  sea. 
Nay  too  if  by  chance  any  kindly  Scar,  swimming 
past,  has  seen  him  struggling  in  the  wicker-work, 
he  grasps  with  his  jaws  his  tail  from  behind,  and  so 
pulls  him,  that  the  prey  may  spring  clear  of  the 
basket  which  held  him.  1  he  Squid,  tardy  in  flight, 
when  caught  perchance  beneath  the  clear  water 
(and  every  moment  his  entrails  fear  the  clutching 

2  Pliny’s  paraphrase  of  this  passage  {N.H.  32.  2.  11)  shows 
that  there  was  some  mention  of  a  “  nassa  ”  or  wicker  basket ; 
the  line  has  been  variously  filled  up,  e.g.  “  si  nassae  m 
patulas  fraudes  de  vimine  textas”  (Owen),  or  “si  nassae  in 
fraudem  pellectus  ventris  ab  ira  ”  (V ollmer). 


3“ 


OVID 


Inficiens  aequor  nigrum  vomit  illa  cruorem 
Avertitque  vias  oculos  frustrata  sequentes. 

Clausus  rete  lupus  quamvis  inmitis  et  acer 
Dimotis  cauda  submissus  sidit  harenis 

.  ia  auras  25 

Emicat  atque  dolos  saltu  deludit  inultus. 

Et  muraena  ferox  teretis  sibi  conscia  tergi 

Ad  laxata  magis  conixa  foramina  retis 

Tandem  per  multos  evadit  lubrica  flexus 

Exemploque  nocet :  cunctis  iter  invenit  una,  30 

At  contra  scopulis  crinali  corpore  segnis 

Polypus  haeret  et  hac  eludit  retia  fraude  : 

Et  sub  lege  loci  sumit  mutatque  colorem 
Semper  ei  similis  quem  contigit :  atque  ubi  praedam 
Pendentem  saetis  avidus  rapit,  hic  quoque  fallit,  35 
Elato  calamo  cum  demum  emersus  in  auras 
Bracchia  dissolvit  populatumque  expuit  hamum. 

At  mugil  cauda  pendentem  everberat  escam 
Excussamque  legit,  lupus  acri  concitus  ira 
Discursu  fertur  vario  fluctusque  ferentes  40 

Prosequitur  quassatque  caput,  dum  volnere  saevus 
Laxato  cadat  hamus  et  ora  patentia  linquat. 

Nec  proprias  vires  nescit  muraena  nocendi 

Auxilioque  sui  morsu  nec  comminus  acri 

Deficit  aut  animos  ponit  captiva  minaces  45 


21  illae  MSS.  :  illa  cruorem  Sannazarius. 

25  Filled  up  by  Birt  thus  :  “in  foveaque  iaeens,  ubi  rete  leva¬ 
tur,”  “  and  lying  in  the  hole,  when  the  net  is  raised.” 

45  After  this  line  Birt,  following  Pliny’s  paraphrase,  would 
insert  the  line  “amplius  os  hamo  vorat  eroditque  ita  linum,” 
“  his  mouth  devours  more  than  the  hook,  and  thus  gnaws  through 
the  line.” 


312 


1  i.e.  injures  the  fisherman’s  catch. 


ON  SEA-FISHING 


hands)  vomits  dark  blood  from  his  mouth  and  stains 
the  sea,  and  turns  from  his  track  baffling  the  eyes 
that  follow  him.  The  Pike  enclosed  in  a  net, 
though  huge  and  fierce,  sinks  down  submissive, 
parting  the  sands  with  his  tail  .  .  .  darts  up  into 
the  air  and  by  his  leap  mocks  with  impunity  their 
guile.  The  bold  Lamprey,  too,  aware  of  his  smooth 
back,  struggling  with  the  looser  meshes  of  the  net, 
at  length  escapes  by  many  slippery  writhings,  and 
damages  by  his  example  :  ^  for  by  himself  he  finds  a 
way  for  all.  But  the  lazy  Polypus  with  his  hairy  body 
clings  to  the  rocks,^  and  by  this  ruse  eludes  the  nets, 
and  takes  or  changes  colour  as  the  spot  determines, 
ever  like  to  that  which  he  has  touched.  And  when 
he  greedilj'^  seizes  the  prey  that  hangs  from  the  line, 
he  also  plays  his  trick,  for  when  the  rod  is  lifted 
and  he  at  length  emerges  into  the  air,  his  arms  melt 
away  and  he  spews  forth  the  plundered  hook.  But 
the  Mullet  with  his  tail  strikes  off  the  suspended 
bait,  and  gathers  it  when  it  falls.  The  Pike,  stung 
to  violent  wrath,  dashes  here  and  there,  and  follows 
the  waves  that  carry  him,  and  tosses  his  head  till 
the  wound  is  widened,  and  the  cruel  barb  falls  out 
and  leaves  the  gaping  mouth.  Nor  is  the  Lamprey 
ignorant  of  his  own  powers  of  harm,  nor  fails  in  his 
own  defence  nor  in  fierce  biting  at  close  quarters, 
nor  even  when  captive  loses  his  fighting  spirit.  .  .  , 
The  Anthias  uses  weapons  on  his  back  which  he 

*  Oppian  uses  similar  woi'ds  about  the  Cuttlefish  (sepia): 
“with  those  locks  she  clings  to  the  rocks  even  as  a  ship 
fastens  her  cables  to  the  rocks  upon  the  shore,”  {Hal,  ii,  125 : 
Mair’s  translation  in  L.C.L.) 


313 


OVID 


Anthias  in  tergo  quae  non  videt  utitur  armis, 

Vim  spinae  novitque  suae  versoque  supinus 
Corpore  lina  secat  fixumque  intercipit  hamum. 

Cetera  quae  densas  habitant  animalia  silvas 
Aut  vani  quatiunt  semper  lymphata  timores  60 

Aut  trahit  in  praeceps  non  sana  ferocia  mentis  : 

Ipsa  sequi  natura  monet  vel  comminus  ire. 

Impiger  ecce  leo  venantum  sternere  pergit 
Agmina  et  adversis  infert  sua  pectora  telis ; 

Quomque  venit  fidens  magis  et  sublatior  ardet  65 

Concussitque  toros  et  viribus  addidit  iram, 

Procidit  atque  suo  properat  sibi  robore  letum. 

Foedus  Lucanis  provolvitur  ursus  ab  antris, — 

Quid  nisi  pondus  iners  stolidaeque  ferocia  mentis  ? 

Actus  aper  saetis  iram  denuntiat  hirtis  ;  60 

Se  ruit  oppositi  nitens  in  volnera  ferri. 

Pressus  et  emisso  moritur  per  viscera  telo. 

Altera  pars  fidens  pedibus  dat  terga  sequenti 
Ut  pavidi  lepores,  ut  fulvo  tergore  dammae 
Et  capto  fugiens  cervus  sine  fine  timore.  65 

Hic  generosus  honos  et  gloria  maior  equorum; 

Nam  capiunt  animis  palmam  gaudentque  triumpho  ; 

Seu  septem  spatiis  circo  meruere  coronam, 

Nonne  vides  victor  quanto  sublimius  altum 

Attollat  caput  et  volgi  se  venditet  aurae  ?  70 

Celsave  cum  caeso  decorantur  terga  leone. 

Quam  tumidus  quantoque  venit  spectabilis  actu 
Compescitque  solum  generoso  concita  pulsu 
Ungula  sub  spoliis  graviter  redeuntis  opimis  ! 

Quid  laus  prima  canum  ?  quibus  est  audacia  praeceps  75 

55  quodque  MSS  :  other  edd.  quoque. 

57  prodedit  3fSS. :  prodigit  (sc.  vires)  Follmer :  procidit 
Burman. 

73  ppnpiscatque  MSS.  :  compescitque  Riese. 

314 


ON  SEA-FISHING 


does  not  see,  and  knows  the  power  of  his  spine,  and 
turning  upon  his  back  he  cuts  the  twine  and  cuts  off 
the  implanted  hook. 

The  other  animals  that  dwell  in  the  dense  forest 
are  either  racked  and  ever  maddened  by  empty 
fears,  or  driven  headlong  by  frenzied  daring  :  Nature 
herself  bids  them  give  chase  or  grapple  in  close 
fight.  Lo  !  the  impetuous  Lion  dashes  to  overthrow 
the  hunters’  ranks,  and  presents  his  breast  to  their 
opposing  weapons ;  and  even  while  he  advances  with 
greater  boldness  and  ardour  more  exultant,  and  tosses 
his  brawny  muscles  and  adds  anger  to  his  might,  he 
falls  and  his  strength  but  hastens  his  own  death. 
From  his  Lucanian  den  waddles  forth  the  ugly  Bear, 
—what  save  sluggish  weight  and  stolid  fierceness? 
The  hunted  Boar  proclaims  his  wrath  by  his  shaggy 
bristles ;  he  rushes  with  all  his  might  upon  the 
wounds  of  the  opposing  steel,  and,  checked  by  a 
dart  sped  through  his  vitals,  he  dies.  Another  group 
trust  to  their  feet  and  flee  before  the  ^^ursuer,  as 
frightened  hai-es  and  hinds  with  tawny  bodies  and 
the  stag  that  flees  unceasingly  once  he  has  known 
panic.  Here  is  the  high-born  pi’ide  and  the  nobler 
glory  of  the  Steeds ;  for  by  mettle  do  they  win  the 
prize,  and  they  exult  in  victory.  If  in  the  seven 
laps  of  the  Circus  they  have  gained  the  crown,  see 
you  not  how  much  higher  the  victor  holds  his  lofty 
head,  and  commends  himself  to  the  breeze  of  popular 
favour  ?  Or  when  his  tall  back  is  adorned  by  a  slain 
lion’s  skin,  how  swelling  his  pomp,  with  what  action 
he  courts  the  eye,  while  with  haughty  beat  of  hoof 
he  tramples  the  ground,  and  returns  heavily  laden 
with  rich  spoils !  What  is  the  chiefest  praise  of 
Hounds  ?  Headlong  boldness  is  theirs,  and  excellent 

315 


OVID 


Venandique  sagax  virtus  viresque  sequendi ; 

Quae  nunc  elatis  rimantur  naribus  auras. 

At  nunc  demisso  quaerunt  vestigia  rostro 
Et  produnt  clamore  feram  dominumque  vocando 
Increpitant  :  quem  si  conlatis  effugit  armiS,  80 

Insequitur  tumulosque  canis  camposque  per  omnes.  .  .  . 

Noster  in  arte  labor  positus,  spes  omnis  in  illa. 

Nec  tamen  in  medias  pelagi  te  pergere  sedes 
Admoneam  vastique  maris  temptare  profundum  : 

Inter  utrumque  loci  melius  moderabere  linum.  85 

Aspera  num  saxis  loca  sint  (nam  talia  lentos 
Deposcunt  calamos,  at  purum  retia  litus), 

Num  mons  horrentes  demittat  celsior  umbras 
In  mare  (nam  varie  quidam  fugiuntque  petuntque), 

Num  vada  subnatis  imo  viridentur  ab  herbis  90 

Obiectetque  moras  et  molli  serviat  algae. 

Discripsit  sedes  varie  natura  profundi 
Nec  cunctos  una  voluit  consistere  pisces. 

Nam  gaudent  pelago  quales  scombrique  bovesque. 
Hippuri  celeres  et  nigro  tergore  milvi  95 

Et  pretiosus  elops  nostris  incognitus  undis 
Ac  durus  xiphias  ictu  non  mitior  ensis 
Et  pavidi  magno  fugientes  agmine  thynni. 

Parva  echenais  (at  est,  mirum,  mora  puppibus  ingens) 
Tuque  comes  ratium  tractique  per  aequora  sulci  100 
Qui  semper  spumas  sequeris,  pompile,  nitentes 

85  finem  MSS.  :  funem  Ulitius  :  linum  Merkel.  After  this 
line  another  lacuna  is  suspected,  e.g.  (Birt)  “pisces  observes  quid 
ament  et  dona  locorum,”  “  you  should  observe  what  the  fish  like 
and  what  the  places  provide  ” 

91  oblectet  MSS.  :  obiectet  (sc.  imum)  Eeinsius. 

316 


ON  SEA-FISHING 


sagacity  in  the  chase,  and  power  to  pursue.  Now 
Avith  noses  raised  they  sniff  the  air,  now  with  loAvered 
muzzles  seek  the  track,  and  drive  forth  the  quarry 
by  their  clamour,  and  calling  chide  their  master ; 
and  should  the  beast  escape  him  when  the  battle 
is  joined,  the  hound  pursues  it  o’er  every  hill  and 
plain.  .  .  . 

On  skill  does  our  toil  depend,  all  our  hope  lies 
therein.  Yet  I  would  not  bid  you  go  to  the  mid¬ 
most  regions  of  the  sea,  or  try  the  depths  of  the 
vast  ocean  ;  between  either  extreme  will  you  guide 
your  line  more  profitably  .  .  .  whether  the  waters 
are  studded  with  rocks  (for  such  j^laces  need  pliant 
rods,  while  an  open  coast  admits  of  nets),  or  whether 
a  high  mountain  cast  its  shivering  shadows  upon  the 
sea  (for  in  different  wise  do  some  fishes  shun  or  seek 
the  bait),  or  whether  the  shallows  are  verdant  with 
grasses  that  grow  at  the  bottom,  and  it  interpose 
delays  and  foster  the  soft  seaweed.  In  varying  wise 
has  Nature  designed  the  dwellings  of  the  deep,  nor 
has  she  wished  all  fishes  to  abide  together. 

Some  rejoice  in  the  open  sea,  such  as  Mackerel  ^ 
and  Turbot  and  swift  Carp  ^  and  black-backed  Gur¬ 
nards,  and  the  costly  Sturgeon,  unknown  to  our 
Avaters,  and  the  cruel  Sword-fish,  as  merciful  as  a 
sword-thrust,  and  frightened  Tunnies  that  flee  in 
large  shoals,  the  tiny  Remora  (yet,  strange  to  tell, 
a  great  hinderer  of  ships),  and  thou,  companion  of 
vessels  and  of  the  furrow  traced  upon  the  deep, 

^  Pelagic  fish,  but  “they  approach  the  shore  at  certain 
seasons  in  countless  multitudes,  either  prior  to,  after,  or 
during  breeding,  or  for  predaceous  purposes”  (Day,  i,  p.  85). 

2  Probably  Coryphaena  hippurus;  mod.  Gk.  Xa/xTrovya, 
fxavaXia  “popularly  but  erroneously  called  dolphins.” 

317 


OVID 


Cercyrosque  ferox  scopulorum  fine  moratus^ 

Cantharus  ingratus  suco,  tum  concolor  illi 
Orphos  caeruleaque  rubens  erythinus  in  unda, 

Insignis  sargusque  notis,  insignis  iulis  105 

Et  super  aurata  sparulus  cervice  refulgens 
Et  rutilus  phager  et  fulvi  synodontes  et  ex  se 
Concipiens  channe,  gemino  sibi  functa  parente. 

Tum  viridis  squamis,  parvo  saxatilis  ore 
Et  rarus  faber  et  pictae  mormyres  et  auri  llO 

Chrysophrys  imitata  decus,  tum  corporis  umbrae 
Liventis  rapidique  lupi  percaeque  tragique. 

Quin  laude  insignis  caudae  melanurus  et  ardens 
Auratis  muraena  notis  merulaeque  virentes 
Immitisque  suae  gonger  per  volnera  genti  115 

Et  captus  duro  nociturus  scorpios  ictu 
Ac  nunquam  aestivo  conspectus  sidere  glaucus. 

At  contra  herbosa  pisces  laetantur  harena 
Ut  scarus,  epastas  solus  qui  ruminat  escas, 
Fecundumque  genus  maenae  lamirosque  smarisque  120 
Atque  immunda  chromis,  merito  vilissima  salpa 
Atque  avium  phycis  nidos  imitata  sub  undis 

116  capitis  MSS.  :  captus  Oiacconus. 

122  dulces  MSS. :  phycis  VUtius,  fr.  Plin.  N.H.  9. 


^  Really  Naucrates  ductor,  one  of  the  horse-mackerels 
(carangidae) ;  for  their  love  of  following  ships  see  Pliny,  9.  51 
and  Oppian,  Hal.  i.  185  fif. 

^  Merou,  or  Great  sea-perch  (serranus  gigas),  highly  esteemed 
for  its  white  flesh ;  Oppian  (i.  142)  calls  it  late-dying,  i.e. 
tenacious  of  life  ;  mentioned  by  Aristophanes,  Vcsp.  493. 

®  Dentex  vulgaris,  one  of  the  sea-breams.  Oppian  {Eal.  iii. 
610)  says  that  they  travel  in  separate  bands,  like  soldiers. 

318 


ON  SEA-FISHING 


Rudder-fish  ^  that  always  followest  the  shilling  foam^ 
and  bold  Pinnace  lurking  at  the  edge  of  rocks^  and 
Sea-bream  2  of  unpleasing  taste^  then  Stone-brass  like 
in  hue  to  him,  and  Mullet  glowing  red  in  the  blue 
wave,  and  Sargus  notable  for  his  markings,  notable 
too  the  Rainbow-wrasse,  and  Bream  that  shines 
with  gilded  neck,  glittering  Braize,  tawny  Synodons,® 
and  self-conceiving  Channe  ^  that  plays  the  part  of 
both  parents  to  itself,  then  Rock-fish  green-scaled 
and  small  of  mouth,  rare  Dory,  painted  Mormyrs,® 
and  Gilt-head  ®  that  counterfeits  the  sheen  of  gold. 
Umbers  with  livid  body  and  swift  Pikes  and  Perch  ’ 
and  Goat-fish,®  and  Black-tail  whose  tail  wins  high 
renown,  and  Lamprey  glowing  with  gold  markings, 
and  green  Sea- carp,  and  Conger-eel  made  cruel  by 
the  wounds  of  his  own  tribe,  and  Scorpion  that 
when  taken  will  hurt  with  a  fierce  sting,  and  Blue- 
fish  ®  never  seen  under  summer  stars. 

But  on  the  other  hand  are  fish  that  rejoice  in 
grassy  sand,  as  the  Scar  who  alone  chews  the  cud 
of  eaten  food,  and  the  prolific  tribe  of  Maenae,  and 
Lamirus  and  Picarel  and  unclean  Chromis,  and  Salpa 
justly  held  most  worthless,  and  Phycis  that  imitates 
beneath  the  waves  the  nests  of  birds,  and  Red 

*  Mentioned  by  Aristotle,  who  was  aware  that  the  genus 
Serranus  to  which  it  belongs  was  hermaphrodite ;  this  fish  is 
either  serranus  cabrilla  or  scriba. 

®  Mentioned  in  Anth.  Pal.  6.  304. 

*  It  gets  its  name  from  its  inter-orbital  golden  bands 
(French,  “daurade”);  mentioned  by  Martial,  13.  90. 

’’  A  freshwater  fish  that  sometimes  enters  salt  water 
(perca  fluvdatilis),  cf.  Ausonius,  Mosella  115  ;  or  else  serranus 
scriba,  a  rock-fish, 

®  The  male  of  the  maenis,  or  maena  (1.  120). 

®  Oppian  says  of  it  that  it  loves  its  young  beyond  all 
other  fishes  that  are  oviparous,  Hal.  i.  749  ff. 


319 


OVID 


Et  squa<mas>  teiiui  suffusus  sanguine  mullus, 
Fulgentes  soleae  candore  et  eoncolor  i<llis> 
Passer  et  Hadriaco  mirandus  litore  rhombus, 
Tum  lepores  lati,  tum  molles  tergore  ranae 
Extremi  pareuc 


Lubricus  et  spina  nocuus  non  gobius  una  130 

Et  nigrum  niveo  portans  in  corpore  virus 

Lolligo  durique  sues  sinuosaque  caris 

Et  tam  deformi  non  dignus  nomine  asellus 

Tuque  peregrinis  acipenser  nobilis  undis . 

123  squa  MSS.  :  squatus  et,  squalus  et  edd.  :  squamas  Ciac- 
conus,  fr.  Oppian,  Hal.  87. 

124  concolori  MSS. :  concolor  illis  Hciiisius, 

127  Filled  by  Birt  thus  :  “extremi  aspectu  taeter  quibus  ons 
hiatus,”  “  last  those  whose  gaping  mouth  is  grim  to  behold. 


320 


ON  SEA-FISHING 


Mullet  whose  scales  are  suffused  with  tenuous  blood. 
Soles  shining  bright  and  Passer  of  like  hue  with 
them  and  the  marvellous  Turbot  of  the  Adriatic 
shore,  broad  Hares  and  soft-backed  Frog-fish,  and 
last  of  all  .  .  .  the  slippery  Gudgeon,  harmful  with 
not  one  spine  only,  the  Cuttle-fish  that  bears  black 
poison  in  a  snow-white  body,  tough  Hogs  and  sinuous 
Prawns,  and  Donkey-fish,  undeserving  of  a  name  so 
mean,  and  thou.  Sturgeon,  renowned  in  foreign 
waters  .  .  . 


Y 


321 


» 


i 


„>  «1 » ^ ,.  •^  •■4  ■  *  >*  I 

►  '  .v- j-  ■>•?■>  '^ 

,  '.  .  »» 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


CONSOLATIO  AD  LIVIAM 

Visa  diu  felix,  mater  modo  dicta  “  Neronum, 
lam  tibi  dimidium  nominis  huius  abest ; 
lam  legis  in  Drusum  miserabile,  Livia,  carmen. 

Unum  qui  dicat  iam  tibi  “  mater  ”  habes. 

Nec  tua  te  pietas  distendit  amore  duorum. 

Nec  posito  fili  nomine  dicis  “  uter  ?  ” 

Et  quisquam  leges  audet  tibi  dicere  flendi  ? 

Et  quisquam  lacrimas  temperat  ore  tuas  ? 

Ei  mihi,  quam  facile  est,  quamvis  hic  contigit  omnes. 
Alterius  luctu  fortia  verba  loqui  ; 

“  Scilicet  exiguo  percussa  es  fulminis  ictu, 

Fortior  ut  possis  cladibus  esse  tuis. 

Occidit  exemplum  iuvenis  venerabile  morum  : 

Maximus  ille  armis,  maximus  ille  toga. 

Ille  modo  eripuit  latebrosas  hostibus  Alpes 
Et  titulum  belli  dux  duce  fratre  tulit : 

Ille  genus  Suevos  acre  indomitosque  Sicambros 
Contudit  inque  fugam  barbara  terga  dedit 
Ignotumque  tibi  meruit,  Romane,  triumphum,. 

Protulit  in  terras  imperiumque  novas. 

Solvere  vota  lovi  fatorum  ignara  tuorum. 

Mater,  et  armiferae  solvere  vota  deae 
Gradivomque  patrem  donis  implere  parabas 
Et  quoscunque  coli  est  iusque  piumque  deos. 


1  Apparently  meant  to  illustrate  1.  10,  as  a  usual  common¬ 
place  of  consolation.  At  the  same  time  Ovid  suggests  that  no 
one  could  show  more  fortitude  than  Livia. 

“  In  12  B.C. 

324 


A  POEiM  OF  CONSOLATION 

TO  LIVIA  AUGUSTA  ON  THE  DEATH  OF 
HER  SON,  DRUSUS  NERO 

O  THOU  who  didst  long  seem  blest,  called  but  of 
late  '‘the  mother  of  the  Neros,”  now  is  the  half  of 
that  title  thine  no  more  ;  now  art  thou  reading  a 
sad  plaint  to  Drusus’  memory,  now  hast  thou  but 
one  to  call  thee  "mother”  ;  neither  does  thy  affec¬ 
tion  distract  thee  between  love  for  two,  nor  hearing 
the  w'ord  “son”  dost  thou  ask  “which.”  And  does 
any  dare  to  tell  thee  the  conditions  of  mourning? 
does  any  check  the  tears  upon  thy  face  ?  Alas  !  how 
easy  it  is,  though  this  sorrow  has  touched  all,  to 
speak  brave  words  in  another’s  grief!  “  Liglitly,  be 
sure,  has  the  thunderbolt  touched  thee,  that  by  thy 
calamities  thou  mayst  be  able  to  be  more  stout¬ 
hearted.”  ^  A  youth  is  dead,  whose  life  was  a  pattern 
that  all  might  reverence ;  great  in  arms  was  he,  and 
great  in  peace.  He  wrested  of  late  from  the  foe 
their  Alpine  hiding-places,  and  won  renown,  sharing 
with  his  brother  the  captaincy  of  the  war ;  he  crushed 
the  fierce  tribe  of  Suevi  and  the  untamed  Sicambri, 
and  turned  their  barbarous  backs  to  flight,  and  won 
for  thee,  O  Roman,  a  triumph  before  unknown,  and 
extended  thy  sway  to  new  lands.^  Ignorant  of  thy 
destinies  thou  wert  preparing,  O  mother,  to  pay  thy 
vows  to  Jove,  to  pay  thy  vows  to  the  armed  goddess, 
and  to  heap  with  gifts  our  sire  Gradivus,  and  all  the 
gods  whom  ’tis  right  and  dutiful  to  worship  ;  thy 

32s 


OVID 


Maternaque  sacros  agitabas  mente  triumphos,  25 

Forsitan  et  curae  iam  tibi  currus  erat. 

Funera  pro  sacris  tibi  sunt  ducenda  triumphis 
Et  tumulus  Drusum  pro  lovis  arce  manet. 

Fingebas  reducem  praeceptaque  mente  fovebas 

Gaudia  et  ante  oculos  iam  tibi  victor  erat :  30 

“  Iam  veniet,  iam  me  gratantem  turba  videbit, 

Iam  mihi  pro  Druso  dona  ferenda  meo. 

Obvia  progrediar  felixque  per  oppida  dicar 

Collaque  et  osque  oculosque  illius  ore  premam. 

Talis  erit,  sic  occurret,  sic  oscula  iunget ;  35 

Hoc  mihi  narrabit,  sic  prior  ipsa  loquar.” 

Gaudia  magna  foves  :  spem  pone,  miserrima,  falsam  ; 

Desine  de  Druso  laeta  referre  tuo. 

Caesaris  illud  opus,  voti  pars  altera  vestri. 

Occidit ;  indignas,  Livia,  solve  comas.  40 

Quid  tibi  nunc  mores  prosunt  actumque  pudice 
Omne  aevom  et  tanto  tam  placuisse  viro  ? 

Quidque  pudicitia  tantum  cumulasse  bonorum. 

Ultima  sit  laudes  inter  ut  illa  tuas  ? 

Quid,  tenuisse  animum  contra  sua  saecula  rectum,  45 
Altius  et  vitiis  exeruisse  caput  ? 

Nec  nocuisse  ulli  et  fortunam  habuisse  nocendi. 

Nec  quemquam  nervos  extimuisse  tuos? 

Nec  vires  errasse  tuas  campo  ve  forove 

Quamque  licet  citra  constituisse  domum  ?  50 

Nempe  per  hos  etiam  Fortunae  iniuria  mores 
Regnat  et  incerta  est  hic  quoque  nixa  rota ; 

34  Most  MSS.  read  “eollaque  et  osque  oculos.” 

43  inviolata  MISS.  ;  cumulasse  Mlolsheim  :  in  tanto  inviolata, 
Vollmer. 


^  Drusus  was  the  “work”  of  Caesar,  who  had  adopted  him 
and  ti’ained  him  for  his  work  ;  he  and  his  brother  were  tlie  hope 
of  Caesar  and  Livia  (“  vestri  ”). 

326 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


mother’s  mind  was  brooding  on  the  sacred  triumph  : 
perchan«ce  thou  wert  even  thinking  on  the  chariot. 
A  funeral  must  thou  lead  in  place  of  the  sacred 
triumph,  and  the  pyre  awaits  Drusus  before  the 
citadel  of  Jove.  Thou  didst  picture  him  returned, 
and  cherished  in  thy  heart  the  joys  he  bade  thee 
feel,  and  already  he  stood  victorious  before  thine 
eyes.  “  Soon  will  he  come  ;  soon  will  the  throng 
behold  me  giving  thanks,  soon  must  I  bear  gifts  for 
my  Drusus’  safety.  I  shall  go  forth  to  meet  him, 
and  through  the  cities  I  shall  be  called  fortunate ; 
his  neck  will  I  embrace  and  kiss  his  mouth  and 
eyes.  Even  so  will  he  be,  so  will  he  meet  me,  and 
so  kiss  me ;  such  tale  will  he  tell,  thus  will  I  accost 
him  first.  ”  Great  are  the  joys  thou  art  cherishing ; 
unhappiest  of  women,  put  aside  false  hopes,  cease  to 
tell  joyful  tidings  of  thy  Drusus.  That  achievement 
of  Caesar,  the  one  half  of  your  hopes,i  has  perished  ; 
undo,  Livia,  thy  undeserving  locks.  What  now  avails 
thy  chai’acter,  thy  whole  life  chastely  lived,thy  having 
so  pleased  so  mighty  a  lord  ?  And  what  with  chastity 
to  have  crowned  such  a  sum  of  dignities  that  it  is  the 
last  among  thy  praises  ?  What  avails  it  to  have  kept 
thy  mind  upright  against  thy  age,  and  to  have  lifted 
thy  head  clear  of  its  vices?  To  have  harmed  none, 
yet  to  have  had  the  power  to  harm,  and  that  none 
feared  thy  might  ?  That  thy  power  strayed  not  to 
the  Campus  or  the  Forum,^  and  that  thou  didst  order 
thy  house  within  the  bounds  permitted  thee  ?  Ay, 
verily  o’er  such  lives  too  Fortune’s  injustice  reigns  ; 
here  too  she  rides  her  shifting  wheel;  here  too  is 

2  i.e.  to  public  life,  which  was  not  women’s  business  ;  the 
following  line  simply  means  that  she  kept  within  the  proper 
woman’s  sphere  and  looked  after  her  household.  Other  edd. 
read  “continuisse,”  understand  “vires  tuas. 

327 


OVID 


Hic  quoque  sentitur  :  ne  quid  non  improba  carpat 
Saevit  et  iniustum  ius  sibi  ubique  facit. 

Scilicet  immunis  si  luctus  una  fuisset  55 

Livia,  Fortunae  regna  minora  forent. 

Quid  si  non  habitu  sic  se  gessisset  in  omni, 

Ut  sua  non  essent  invidiosa  bona? 

Caesaris  adde  domum,  quae  certe,  funeris  expers. 

Debuit  humanis  altior  esse  malis.  60 

Ille  vigil,  summa  sacer  ipse  locatus  in  arce. 

Res  hominum  ex  tuto  cernere  dignus  erat. 

Nec  fleri  ipse  suis  nec  quemquam  flere  suorum 
Nec,  quae  nos  patimur  volgus,  et  ipse  pati ; 

Vidimus  erepta  maerentem  stirpe  sororis  :  65 

Luctus,  ut  in  Druso,  publicus  ille  fuit ; 

Condidit  Agrippam  quo  te,  Marcelle,  sepulcro. 

Et  cepit  generos  iam  locus  ille  duos; 

Vix  posito  Agripjja  tumuli  bene  ianua  clausa  est. 

Percipit  officium  funeris  ecce  soror.  70 

Ecce  ter  ante  datis  iactura  novissima  Drusus 
A  magno  lacrimas  Caesare  quartus  habet. 

Claudite  iam,  Parcae,  nimium  reserata  sepulcra. 

Claudite  :  plus  iusto  iam  domus  ista  patet. 

Cedis,  et  incassum  tua  nomina,  Druse,  levantur  75 
Ultima  ;  sit  fati  haec  summa  querela  tui. 

Iste  potest  implere  dolor  vel  saecula  tota 
Et  magni  luctus  obtinuisse  locum. 

Multi  in  te  amissi,  nec  tu,  tot  turba  bonorum. 

Omnis  cui  virtus  contigit,  unus  eras,  80 

70  perficit  3ISS.  79  turba  Scaliger  :  verba  MSS. 

1  The  bereavements  alluded  to  here  are— (i)  the  death  of  the 
young  Marcellus,  son  of  Augustus’  sister  Octavia  by  her  first 
husband,  M.  Claudius  Marcellus,  2.3  b.c.  (ef.  Virg.  Aen.  vi. 
860  ff. )  ;  (ii)  that  of  Agrippa,  his  son-in-law,  statesman  and 
general,  12  B.C.  ;  (iii)  that  of  his  sister  Octavia. 

32S 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


she  felt :  lest  anything  escape  her  insatiate  grasp, 
she  rages,  and  everywhere  makes  injustice  justice 
for  herself.  Foi'sooth,  if  Livia  alone  had  been 
immune  from  grief,  then  Fortune’s  realm  had 
suffered !  What  if  she  had  not  so  borne  herself  in 
all  her  ways  that  her  blessings  stirred  no  envy  ? 
Think  too  of  Caesar’s  house,  which  surely  should 
have  been  exempt  from  death  and  higher  than 
human  ills.  He,  our  guardian,  set  consecrated  on 
the  highest  citadel,  was  worthy  to  regard  the  affairs 
of  men  fi’om  a  place  of  safety,  nor  to  be  wept  for  by 
his  own,  nor  that  any  of  his  own  should  weep,  nor  to 
endure  himself  what  we,  the  common  folk,  endure  ; 
we  have  seen  him  mourning  for  his  sister’s  offspring 
snatched  away  :  that  grief,  as  in  Drusus’  case,  Avas 
shared  by  all  ;  he  buried  Agrippa  in  thy  sepulchre, 
Marcellus,  and  already  that  place  held  his  two  sons- 
in-law  ;  scarce  was  the  tomb’s  door  fast  closed  upon 
Agrippa’s  corpse,  lo !  his  sister  receives  the  rites  of 
death. ^  Lo  i  thrice  lias  the  tribute  been  paid,^  and 
Drusus,  the  latest  loss,  is  the  fourth  to  draw  tears 
from  mighty  Caesar.  Shut  now,  ye  Fates,  shut  the 
tomb  too  oft  unlocked !  more  already  than  is  right 
has  that  house  of  j’ours  been  opened.  Drusus,  thou 
goest ;  and  fruitlessly  is  thy  name  called  for  the  last 
time  let  this  be  the  last  complaining  for  thy  fate. 
Sorrow  for  thee  can  fill  whole  ages,  and  take  rank 
as  a  mighty  mourning :  many  men  Avere  lost  in 
thee,  nor  wert  thou,  so  great  a  multitude  of  virtues, 
the  only  one  in  whom  all  excellence  was  found,^ 

2  /.r.  of  tears,  “  ter  datis  lacrimis.” 

3  The  name  of  the  dead  man  was  called  aloud  three  times 
before  the  body  was  placed  on  the  pyre  (cf.  219). 

“  He  refers  to  Drusus’  brother,  of  whom  he  now  proceeds 
to  speak. 

329 


OVID 


Nec  genetrice  tua  fecundior  ulla  parentum^ 

Tot  bona  per  partus  quae  dedit  una  duos. 

Heu,  par  illud  ubi  est  totidem  virtutibus  aequom 
Et  concors  pietas  nec  dubitatus  amor  ? 

Vidimus  attonitum  fraterna  morte  Neronem  85 

Pallida  promissa  flere  per  ora  coma 
Dissimilemque  sui,  voltu  profitente  dolorem  ; 

Ei  mihi,  quam  toto  luctus  in  ore  fuit ! 

Tu  tamen  extremo  moriturum  tempore  fratrem 

Vidisti,  lacrimas  vidit  et  ille  tuas,  90 

Artigique  suis  moriens  tua  pectora  sensit 
Et  tenuit  voltu  lumina  fixa  tuo, 

Lumina  caerulea  iam  iamque  natantia  morte. 

Lumina  fraternas  iam  subitura  manus. 

At  miseranda  parens  suprema  neque  oscula  legit,  95 
Frigida  nec  fovit  membra  tremente  sinu  ; 

Non  animam  apposito  fugientem  excepit  hiatu 
Nec  sparsit  caesas  per  tua  membra  comas. 

Raptus  es  absenti,  dura  te  feiva  bella  morantur. 

Utilior  patriae  quam  tibi,  Druse,  tuae.  100 

Liquitur,  ut  quondam  zephyris  et  solibus  ictae 
.Solvuntur  tenerae  vere  tepente  nives  ; 

Te  queritur  casusque  malos  irrisaque  vota 
Accusatque  annos  ut  diuturna  suos. 

Talis  in  umbrosis,  mitis  nunc  denique,  silvis  105 

Deflet  Threicium  Daulias  ales  Ityn  ; 

Alcyonum  tales  ventosa  per  aequora  questus 
Ad  surdas  tenui  voce  sonantur  aquas  ; 

Sic  plumosa  novis  plangentes  pectora  pennis 

Oeniden  subitae  concinuistis  aves;  110 

103  irrisaque  tales  MS8. :  vota  Ileinsius. 


1  i.  e.  after  having  put  hef  own  son  to  death  as  a  revenge 
upon  Tereus. 

330 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 

nor  was  any  mother  more  fruitful  than  thine,  who 
alone  by  two  births  brought  forth  so  many  virtues. 
Alas !  where  is  that  pair  well-matched  in  every 
excellence,  devotion  of  heart  to  heart  and  love  un¬ 
doubted?  We  beheld  Nero  dazed  by  his  brother’s 
death,  and  weeping  pale-faced  with  dishevelled  hair, 
unlike  himself  in  his  grief-proclaiming  countenance  ; 
alas,  how  that  grief  was  shown  in  every  line  !  Yet 
thou  didst  see  thy  brother  in  death’s  last  hour,  and 
he  saw  thy  tears,  and  dying  he  felt  thy  breast 
pressed  close  to  his,  and  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
thy  face,  his  eyes,  all  but  merged  in  darksome 
death,  his  eyes,  soon  to  be  closed  by  his  brother’s 
hand.  But  thy  unhappy  mother  neither  imprinted 
her  last  kisses  nor  cherished  the  cold  limbs  in  her 
trembling  bosom  ;  she  caught  not  the  flying  life  on 
open  lips  set  near  to  thine,  nor  scattered  her  shorn 
tresses  o’er  thy  limbs.  In  her  absence  wert  thou 
torn  away,  while  savage  war  detained  thee,  more 
useful  to  thy  country,  Drusus,  than  to  thyself.  She 
melts  away,  as  melt  the  soft  snows,  what  time  the 
suns  and  zephyrs  smite  them,  and  the  spring  is 
warm;  of  thee  she  complains,  of  thy  misfortune 
and  her  slighted  vows,  and  blames  her  years  as  one 
who  has  lived  too  long.  Even  so  in  the  shady  woods 
the  Daunian  bird,  now  gentle  at  last,’^  laments  the 
Thracian  Itys,  even  such  the  plaints  that  o’er  the 
windy  seas  the  piping  Halcyons  utter  to  the  un¬ 
hearing  waves ;  so,  beating  plumy  bosoms  with  new 
wings,  did  ye  chant  together  of  Oeneus  son,  ye 

331 


OVID 


Sic  flevit  Clymene,  sic  et  Clymeneides,  alte 
Quom  invenis  patriis  excidit  ictus  equis. 

Congelat  interdum  lacrimas  duratque  tenetque 
Suspensasque,  oculis  fortior,  intus  agit : 

Erumpunt  iterumque  lavant  gremiumque  sinusque,  115 
Effusae  gravidis  uberibusque  genis. 

In  vires  abiit  flendi  mora  :  plenior  unda 
Defluit,  exigua  siqua  retenta  mora. 

Tandem  ubi  per  lacrimas  licuit,  sic  flebilis  orsa  est 
Singultu  medios  impediente  sonos  ;  120 

“  Nate,  brevis  fructus,  duplicis  sors  altera  partus. 

Gloria  confectae,  nate,  parentis,  ubi  es  ? 

Sed  neque  iam  ‘  duplicis  ’  nec  iam  ‘  sors  altera  partus,’ 
Gloria  confectae  nunc  quoque  matris,  ubi  es 
Heu,  modo  tantus,  ubi  es  ?  tumulo  portaris  et  igni.  125 
Haec  sunt  in  reditus  dona  paranda  tuos  ? 

Sicine  dignus  eras  oculis  occurrere  matris  ? 

Sic  ego  te  reducem  digna  videre  fui  ? 

Caesaris  uxori  si  talia  dicere  fas  est, 

Iam  dubito,  magnos  an  rear  esse  deos.  130 

Nam  quid  ego  admisi  ?  quae  non  ego  numina  cultu. 
Quos  ego  non  potui  demeruisse  deos  ? 

Hic  pietatis  honos  ?  artus  amplector  inanes  : 

Et  vorat  hos  ipsos  flamma  rogusque  sinus. 

Tene  ego  sustineo  positum  scelerata  videre  ?  135 

Tene  meae  poterunt  ungere,  nate,  manus  ? 

Nunc  ego  te  infelix  summum  teneoque  tuorque 
Efiingoque  manus  oraque  ad  ora  fero  ? 

125  qui  modo  tantus  eras  (uv  3/SS. 

134  evocat  .  .  .  suus  3ISS.  ;  Vollmer  keeps  this,  explaining 
“evocat”  as  “calls  away  from  my  embrace  ”  and  “suns”  as 
“  artubus  paratus.” 


332 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


unexpected  birds  ;  ^  so  Clymene  wept^  so  Clymene’s 
daughters,  when  the  stricken  youth  ^  fell  from  his 
father’s  chariot  on  high.  Sometimes  she  makes  her 
tears  congeal  and  harden,  restrains  them,  and,  braver 
than  her  eyes,  drives  them  within,  just  quivering  to 
fall :  yet  forth  they  hurst,  and  once  more  flood  her 
lap  and  bosom,  pouring  out  from  laden  and  ne’er¬ 
failing  eyelids.  Weeping  gains  strength  from  tarry¬ 
ing  ;  the  stream  flows  fuller,  if  even  a  brief  delay 
has  held  it  hack. 

At  length,  when  her  tears  allowed,  thus  dolefully 
she  began,  though  sobbing  checked  her  in  mid¬ 
utterance  ;  “  O  son,  brief  fruit,  and  half  the  fortune 
of  a  twofold  birth,  glory  of  thy  aged  mother,  O  son, 
where  art  thou?  No  more  a  twofold  birth,’  no 
more  ‘  one-half  its  fortune,’  yet  still  the  glory  of  thy 
aged  mother,  where  art  thou?  Ah,  late  so  mighty, 
where  art  thou  ?  to  the  flame  and  to  the  pyre  art 
thou  borne.  Are  these  the  gifts  prepared  for  thy 
return  ?  Deservedst  thou  thus  to  meet  thy  mother’s 
eyes,  deserved  I  thus  to  behold  thee  on  thy  return  ? 
If  Caesar’s  consoi-t  may  speak  thus,  I  doubt  now 
whether  to  think  the  gods  are  great.  For  what 
sin  have  I  done  ?  what  powers,  what  gods  have  I 
failed  to  win  by  my  devotion?  Is  this  piety’s 
reward  ?  I  clasp  lifeless  limbs,  and  flame  and  P3n-e 
devour  this  very  womb.  Can  I  bear  to  see  thee 
lying  there,  cursed  that  I  am  ?  will  my  hands  bring 
themselves  to  anoint  thee,  O  my  son?  Now  for  the 
last  time  do  I  grasp  thee  and  behold  thee,  wretched 
that  I  am  ?  and  stroke  thy  hands  and  set  my  lips  to 

1  The  sisters  of  Meleager,  son  of  Oeneus,  who  were  turned 
into  guinea-fowl  (“  ineleagrides.”) 

2  Phaethon,  son  of  Cljunene. 


333 


OVID 


Nunc  primum  aspiceris  consul  victorque  parenti  ? 

Sic  mihi,  sic  miserae  nomina  tanta  refers  ?  140 

Quos  pi-imum  vidi  fasces,  in  funere  vidi. 

Et  vidi  eversos  indiciumque  mali. 

Quis  credat  ?  matri  lux  haec  carissima  venit, 

Qua  natum  in  summo  vidit  honore  suum  ? 
lamne  ego  non  felix  ?  iampars  mihi  rapta  Neronum,  146 
Materni  celeber  nomine  Drusus  avi  ? 
lanme  meus  non  est  nec  me  facit  ille  parentem  ? 

lamne  fui  Drusi  mater  et  ipse  fuit  ? 

Nec  quom  victorem  referetur  adesse  Neronem, 

Dicere  iam  potero  ^  maior  an  alter  adest  ?  ’  150 

Ultima  contigimus :  ius  matris  habemus  ab  uno. 

Unius  est  munus  quod  tamen  orba  negor. 

Me  miseram,  extimui  frigusque  per  ossa  cucurrit  : 

Nil  ego  iam  possum  certa  vocare  meum. 

Hic  meus  ecce  fuit :  iubet  hic  de  fratre  vereri ;  155 

Omnia  iam  metuo  :  fortior  ante  fui. 

Sospite  te  saltem  moriar,  Nero  :  tu  mea  condas 
Lumina  et  excipias  hanc  animam  ore  pio. 

Atque  utinam  Drusi  manus  altera  et  altera  fratris 
Formarent  oculos  comprimerentque  meos.  160 

Quod  licet,  hoc  certe  tumulo  ponemur  in  uno, 

Druse,  neque  ad  veteres  conditus  ibis  avos ; 

Miscebor  cinerique  cinis  atque  ossibus  ossa : 

Hanc  lucem  celeri  turbine  Parca  neat.” 

Haec  et  plura  refert :  lacrimae  sua  verba  sequuntur  165 
Oraque  nequiquam  per  modo  questa  fluunt. 


^  For  the  idea  of  the  life  escaping  through  the  open  mouth 
and  being  received  on  the  lips  of  the  loving  friend  or  relative 
(cf.  1.  97),  cf.  Ars  Am.  3.  745,  Statius,  Silvae,  5.  1.  195. 

^  He  would  be  buried  among  the  Julian  house,  not  the 
Claudiau. 

334 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 

thine?  Now  first  art  thou  seen  as  consul  and  as 
victor  by  thy  mother  ?  Is  it  so,  is  it  so  thou  bringest 
me  home  (wme  is  me  !)  these  mighty  names  ?  The 
rods  that  I  see  for  the  first  time,  I  see  when  thou 
art  dead;  I  see  them  reversed,  significant  of  evil. 
Who  would  believe  it  ?  can  this  be  the  gladdest  day 
that  has  dawned  for  thy  mother,  that  whereon  she 
sees  her  son  in  highest  honour?  Can  I  be  no  longer 
blest  ?  can  the  half  of  the  Neros  now  be  taken  from 
me,  Drusus  renowmed  for  the  name  of  his  mother  s 
sire  ?  Can  he  be  mine  no  more,  nor  make  me  any 
more  a  parent?  Am  I  no  more  the  mothei  of 
Drusus?  lives  he  now  no  more?  No  more,  when  it 
is  told  me  that  victorious  Nero  is  at  hand,  shall  I  be 
able  to  say,  ‘  Is  it  the  elder  or  the  other  that  is 
here  ?  ’  I  have  touched  the  depths :  I  hold  the 
rights  of  a  mother  from  one  alone  ;  of  one  alone 
is*^it  the  gift  that  nevertheless  I  am  not  called 
childless.  Ah,  wretched  me  !  I  am  afraid,  a  chill 
runs  through  my  bones :  naught  can  I  surely  call 
any  more  my  own.  Lo !  he  was  mine  :  he  bids  me 
fear  for  his  brother ;  now  fear  I  all  things ;  ere  now 
I  was  braver.  At  least,  O  Nero,  may  I  die  before 
thee,  mayst  thou  shut  my  eyes,  and  may  thy 
devoted  mouth  receive  this  life.’-  Ah,  would  that 
one  hand  of  Drusus  and  one  hand  of  his  brother 
could  set  and  close  my  eyelids !  This  at  least  is 
possible — in  this  tomb  shall  we  be  laid  together, 
Drusus,  nor  buried  shalt  thou  go  to  the  sires  of 
old  ;  2  I  shall  be  mingled  with  thee,  ashes  with  ashes, 
bone  with  bone;  m^  Fate  with  swift  wheel  spin 
that  day!” 

I'his  and  more  does  she  say :  tears  follow  nei 
words,  and  flow  unavailing  o’er  the  face  that  late 

335 


OVID 


Quin  etiam  corpus  matri  vix  vixque  I'emissum 
Exequiis  caruit,  Livia,  paene  suis. 

Quippe  ducem  arsuris  exercitus  omnis  in  annis. 

Inter  quae  periit,  ponere  certus  erat  :  170 

Abstulit  invitis  corpus  venerabile  frater 
Et  Drusum  patriae  quod  licuitve  dedit. 

Funera  ducuntur  Romana  per  oppida  Drusi, 

(Heu  facinus)  per  quae  victor  iturus  erat. 

Per  quae  deletis  Raetorum  venerat  armis  :  175 

Ei  mihi,  quam  dispar  huic  fuit  illud  iter. 

Consul  init  fractis  maerentem  fascibus  Vrbem  ; 

Quid  faceret  victus,  sic  ubi  victor  init  ? 

Maesta  domus  plangore  sonat,  cui  figere  laetus 

Parta  sua  dominus  voverat  arma  manu.  180 

Vrbs  gemit  et  voltum  miserabilis  induit  unum — 
Gentibus  adversis  forma  sit  illa,  precor  ! 

Incerti  clauduntque  domos  trepidantque  per  Vrbem, 
Hic  illic  pavidi  clamque  palamque  dolent, 
lura  silent  mutaeque  tacent  sine  vindice  leges  ;  185 

Aspicitur  toto  purpura  nulla  foro. 

Dique  latent  templis  neque  iniqua  ad  funera  voltus 
Praebent  nec  poscunt  tura  ferenda  rogo  : 

Obscuros  delubra  tenent ;  pudet  ora  colentum 

Aspicere  invidiae,  quam  meruere,  metu.  190 

Atque  aliquis  de  plebe  pius  pro  paupere  nato 
Sustulerat  timidas  sidera  ad  alta  manus, 
lamque  precaturus  “  quid  ego  autem  credulus  ”  inquit 
“  Suscipiam  in  nullos  irrita  vota  deos  ? 

183  trepidantque  cdd, :  strepitantque  MSS. 

336 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


lamented.  Nay,  too,  the  corpse,  hardly,  ay  hardly 
given  u})  to  his  mother,  almost,  O  Livia,  lacked  its 
proper  rites.  For  the  whole  host  was  resolved  to  lay 
its  chief  on  the  pyre  to  burn  in  the  harness  wherein 
he  perished ;  but  his  brother  against  their  will 
snatched  away  the  sacred  body,  and  gave  Drusus  (or 
all  that  he  could  give  to  his  native  land.  Drusus’ 
funeral  train  proceeds  through  the  Roman  towns  (ah, 
dreadful  thought !),  through  which  he  was  to  pass  in 
triumph,  through  w’hich  he  had  come  after  crushing 
Rhaetian  arms ;  ^  how  unlike,  alas !  was  this  march 
to  that !  The  consul  enters  a  mourning  city  with 
broken  rods  :  what  should  the  vanquished  do  when 
the  conqueror  enters  thus  ?  With  mournful  wailing 
resounds  the  house  whereon  its  master  had  joyfully 
vowed  to  fix  the  arms  his  hand  had  won.  The 
City  groans,  and  puts  on  one  countenance  of  woe — 
be  such,  I  pray,  the  aspect  of  our  foes !  In  un¬ 
certainty  they  close  their  houses  and  tremble 
throughout  the  city  ;  hither  and  thither  they  go  in 
fear,  ojjenly  and  in  secret  they  make  moan.  ’I  he 
Courts  are  silent,  and  the  laws  unchampioned  are 
mute  and  still;  no  purple  is  seen  in  all  the  Forum. 
The  gods  are  hidden  in  their  temples,  nor  show 
their  faces  at  this  unrighteous  death,  nor  demand 
the  incense  needed  by  the  pyre  ;  they  lurk  obscure 
in  their  shrines,  and  feel  shame  to  look  on  the  faces 
of  their  worshippers,  in  fear  of  the  hatred  they  have 
earned.  And  a  man  of  the  people  had  devoutly 
raised  to  the  high  stars  his  timid  hand,  in  his  needy 
son’s  behalf,  and  now  was  about  to  pray;  “But 
why,”  he  said,  “should  I  credulously  make  vain 
vows  to  gods  who  are  not  ?  Livia  moved  them  not, 

^  i.e.  the  corpse  of  Drusus.  ^  lu  16,  15  b.c. 

337 

z 


OVID 


Liviaj  non  illos  pro  Druso  Livia  movit : 

Nos  erimus  magno  maxima  cura  lovi  ?  ” 

Dixit  et  iratus  vota  insuscepta  reliquit 
Duravitque  animum  destituitque  preces. 

Obvia  turba  ruit  lacrimisque  rigantibus  ora 
Consulis  erepti  publica  damna  refert. 

Omnibus  idem  ocidi,  par  est  concordia  flendi ; 

Funeris  exequiis  adsumus  omnis  eques  ; 

Omnis  adest  aetas,  maerent  iuvenesque  senesque, 
Ausoniae  matres  Ausoniaeque  nurus. 

Auctorisque  sui  praefertur  imagine  maesta 
Quae  victrix  templis  debita  laurus  erat. 

Certat  onus  lecti  generosa  subire  iuventus 
Et  studet  officio  sedula  colla  dare. 

Et  voce  et  lacrimis  laudasti,  Caesar,  alumnum. 

Tristia  cum  medius  rumperet  orsa  dolor. 

Tu  letum  optasti,  dis  aversantibus  omen, 

Par  tibi,  si  sinerent  te  tua  fata  mori. 

Sed  tibi  debetur  caelum,  te  fulmine  pollens 
Accipiet  cupidi  regia  magna  lovis. 

Quod  petiit  tulit  ille,  tibi  ut  sua  facta  placerent, 
Magnaque  laudatus  praemia  mortis  habet. 
Armataeque  rogum  celebrant  de  more  cohortes  ; 

Has  pedes  exequias  reddit  equesque  duci. 

Te  clamore  vocant  iterumque  iterumque  supremo  ; 

At  vox  adversis  collibus  icta  redit.  220 

Ipse  pater  flavis  Tiberinus  adhorruit  undis. 

Sustulit  et  medio  nubilus  amne  caput. 


205 


210 


215 


^  The  writer  was  of  equestrian  family. 

2  The  “decursio”  consisted  of  a  solemn  march  three  times 
round  the  pyre  (cf.  Virg.,  Aen.  xi.  188).  Suetonius  tells  us 
that  this  honour  was  paid  every  year  by  the  army  to  the  tomb 
of  Drusus  in  the  Campus  Martius  (Claud.  1). 

338 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


even  Livia,  in  behalf  of  Drusus  :  shall  I  be  the 
chiefest  care  of  Mighty  Jove?”  He  spoke,  and  in 
anger  left  his  vows  unuttered,  and  hardened  his  soul 
and  abandoned  all  his  prayer. 

The  crowd  rush  forward,  and  with  tears  bedewing 
their  cheeks  tell  of  the  consul’s  death  and  the  public 
loss.  All  eyes  are  the  same,  there  is  an  equal 
harmony  of  weeping  ;  we^  knights  are  all  present  at 
the  funeral  rites  :  every  age  is  there,  young  men  and 
old  alike  lament,  Ausonian  matrons  and  Ausoniaii 
daughters.  Before  the  sad  image  of  its  chief  is 
borne  the  victorious  laurel  owed  to  the  temples. 
High -blooded  youths  vie  in  bearing  the  burden  of 
the  bier,  and  in  offering  willing  necks  for  the  duty. 
With  voice  and  tears,  O  Caesar,  thou  didst  praise  thy 
foster-son,  though  sorrow  checked  the  course  of  thy 
sad  words.  Thou  didst  ask  a  like  death  for  thyself 
(though  the  gods  averted  the  omen)  did  thy  fates 
but  suffer  thee  to  die.  But  to  thee  heaven  is 
owing;  tliee  the  great  hall  of  eager  Jove,  strong  in 
the  thunderbolt,  will  welcome.  What  he  sought — 
that  his  deeds  should  please  thee — that  he  won  ;  in 
thy  praise  he  wins  great  recompense  for  death. 
Armed  cohorts  duly  pay  reverence  to  the  pyre, 
horsemen  and  infantry  perform  the  obsequies  of 
their  chief.^  With  a  shout  they  call  thee,  and  once 
again,  and  again  the  last  time  of  all,  but  their  voices 
re-echo  back  from  yonder  hills.  Father  Tiber  him¬ 
self  shuddered  in  his  yellow  waves,  and  from  mid¬ 
stream  raised  his  cloudy  head.^  Then  with  huge 

^  It  is  possible  to  see  an  imitation  of  this  passage  in 
Milton’s  Lycidas,  “  Next  Camus  reverend  sire,”  etc.  Cf.  also 
Statius,  Theh.  9.  404  sqq. 


z 


2 


339 


OVID 


Tum  salice  implexum  muscoque  et  arundine  crinem 
Caeruleum  magna  legit  ab  ore  manu 
Uberibusque  oculis  lacrimarum  flumina  misit  :  225 

Vix  capit  adiectas  alveus  altus  aquas, 
lamque  rogi  flammas  extinguere  fluminis  ictu, 

Corpus  et  intactum  tollere  certus  erat ; 

Sustentabat  aquas  cursusque  inhibebat  ad  aequor. 

Ut  posset  toto  proluere  amne  i-ogum  ;  230 

Sed  Mavors,  templo  vicinus  et  accola  Campi, 

Tot  dixit  siccis  verba  neque  ipse  genis  ; 

“  Quamquam  amnes  decet  ira,  tamen,  Tiberine,  quiescas: 

Non  tibi,  non  ullis  vincere  fata  datur. 

Iste  meus  periit :  periit  arma  inter  et  enses  235 

Et  dux  pro  patria  :  funere  causa  latet. 

Quod  potui  tribuisse,  dedi  :  victoria  parta  est : 

Auctor  abit  operis,  sed  tamen  extat  opus. 

Quondam  ego  tentavi  Clothoque  duasque  sorores. 

Pollice  quae  certo  pensa  sevei-a  trahunt,  240 

Ut  Remus  Iliades  et  frater  conditor  Vrbis 
Effugerent  aliqua  stagna  profunda  via. 

De  tribus  una  mihi  '  partem  accipe  quae  datur  ’ 
inquit 

‘  Muneris  ;  ex  istis  quod  petis  alter  erit. 

Hic  tibi,  mox  Veneri  Caesar  promissus  uterque  ;  245 

Hos  debet  solos  Martia  Roma  deos.’ 

Sic  cecinere  deae  :  nec  tu,  Tiberine,  repugna. 

Irrite  nec  flammas  amne  morare  tuo 
Nec  iu venis  positi  supremos  destrue  honores. 

Vade  age  et  immissis  labere  pronus  aquis.”  250 

Paret  et  in  longum  spatiosas  explicat  undas 
Structaque  pendenti  pumice  tecta  subit. 


340 


229  ad  aequor  Heinsius  :  equorum  MSS. 
2.36  funere  edd. :  fiinera  MS8. 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


hand  he  lifted  from  his  cerulean  face  the  tresses 
interwoven  with  willow  and  reed  and  moss^  and  sent 
forth  streams  of  tears  from  brimming  eyes  ;  the  deep 
channel  scarce  holds  the  added  waters.  Already 
was  he  resolved  to  extinguish  the  flames  upon  the 
pyre  with  the  impact  of  the  stream,  and  left  the 
corpse  unharmed ;  he  was  checking  his  waters,  and 
staying  their  course  to  the  sea,  that  he  might  flood 
the  pyre  with  his  whole  river;  but  Mavors  in  his 
neighbouring  shrine,  near  dweller  to  the  Campus, 
spoke  thus,  his  own  cheeks  also  wet:  “Though 
anger  becomes  rivers,  yet,  Tiber,  keep  thou  still ; 
not  to  thee,  not  to  any  is  it  given  to  conquer  Fate. 
He  died  my  votary  :  among  arms  and  swords  he 
died,  a  captain  in  his  country’s  service ;  his  cause  is 
forgotten  in  his  death.  Such  tribute  as  I  could  pay, 
I  have  paid  :  the  victory  has  been  won  ;  gone  is  the 
author  of  the  work,  yet  the  work  remains.  Once 
did  I  assail  Clotho  and  her  two  sisters,  who  draw 
with  sure  thumb  the  inexorable  threads,  that  Remus, 
Ilia’s  son,  and  his  brother,  founder  of  the  City, 
might  by  some  way  escape  the  depths  below.  Of 
the  three  one  said  to  me:  ‘Take  that  part  of  the 
gift  which  is  given  thee ;  one  of  the  two  shall  be 
according  to  thy  prayer.  He  to  thee  is  promised, 
to  Venus  hereafter  Caesars  twain  :  ^  these  gods 
alone  are  owed  by  Martian  Rome.’  Thus  sang  the 
goddesses ;  and  thou,  O  Tiber,  struggle  not  in  vain, 
nor  with  thy  river  stay  the  flames,  nor  spoil  the  last 
honours  of  the  dead  youth.  Go  now,  glide  on  thy 
way  with  unchecked  current.”  He  obeys,  and 
lengthwise  unfolds  his  watery  mass,  and  enters  his 
house  wrought  out  of  hanging  rock.  The  flame  long 

^  Julius  and  Augustus  ;  “owed,”  i.e,  to  heaven. 


341 


OVID 


Flamma  diu  cunctata  caput  contingere  sanctum 
Erravit  posito  lenta  sub  usque  toro. 

Tandem  ubi  complexa  est  silvas  alimentaque  sumpsit, 
Aethera  subiectis  lambit  et  astra  comis,  266 

Qualis  in  Herculeae  colluxit  collibus  Oetae, 

Quom  sunt  imposito  membra  cremata  deo. 

Uritur  heu  decor  ille  viri  generosaque  forma 

Et  facilis  voltus,  uritur  ille  vigor  260 

Victricesque  manus  facundaque  principis  ora 
Pectoraque,  ingenii  magna  capaxque  domus. 

Spes  quoque  multorum  flammis  uruntur  in  isdem  , 

Iste  rogus  miserae  viscera  matris  habet. 

Facta  ducis  vivent  operosaque  gloria  rerum  ;  365 

Haec  manet,  haec  avidos  effugit  una  rogos. 

Pars  erit  historiae  totoque  legetur  in  aevo 
Seque  opus  ingeniis  carminibusque  dabit. 

Stabis  et  in  rostris  tituli  speciosus  honore 

Causaque  dicemur  nos  tibi,  Druse,  necis.  270 


At  tibi  ius  veniae  superest,  Germania,  nullum  : 

Postmodo  tu  poenas,  barbare,  morte  dabis. 
Aspiciam  regum  liventia  colla  catenis 
Duraque  per  saevas  vincula  nexa  manus 
Et  tandem  trepidos  voltus  inque  illa  ferocum 
Invitis  lacrimas  decidere  ora  genis. 

Spiritus  ille  minax  et  Drusi  morte  superbus 
Caimifici  in  maesto  carcere  dandus  erit. 
Consistam  lentisque  oculis  laetusque  videbo 
Strata  per  obscaenas  corpora  nuda  vias. 
Hunc  Aurora  diem  spectacula  tanta  ferentem 
Quam  primum  croceis  roscida  portet  equis  ! 


342 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


hesitating  to  touch  the  sacred  head  sti-ayed  slowly 
yet  beneath  the  standing  pyre.  At  length  it  em¬ 
braced  the  timber  and  gained  nourishment,  and 
towered  o’er  the  foliage  and  licked  the  stars  of 
heaven,  even  as  it  glowed  on  the  hills  of  Oeta,  ot 
Herculean  fame,  when  the  limbs  of  the  god  who 
lay  there  were  consumed.  Burning,  alas !  is  the 
hero’s  comeliness,  his  noble  beauty,  his  kindly 
features ;  burning  is  that  vigour,  those  victorious 
hands,  the  chieftain’s  eloquent  mouth,  his  breast, 
that  great  and  spacious  home  of  wisdom.  In  those 
same  flames  burn  the  hopes  of  many  ;  that  pyi’e  holds 
his  unhappy  mother’s  flesh  and  blood.  'Ihe  chief¬ 
tain’s  deeds  will  live,  and  the  hard-won  glory  of  his 
exploits ;  this  abides,  this  alone  escapes  the  greedy 
pyres.  It  will  be  a  part  of  history,  and  will  be  read 
in  every  age,  and  will  be  a  theme  for  writers  and  lor 
poets.  And  on  the  Rostra  shalt  thou  stand,  glorious 
with  thy  roll  of  honours,^  and  we  shall  be  called  the 
cause  of  thy  death,  O  Drusus. 

But  for  thee,  Germania,  no  right  of  pardon 
remains ;  thou  shalt  atone  hereafter,  barbarian,  by 
thy  death.  I  sliall  see  the  necks  of  kings  livid  with 
chains,  and  ruthless  fetters  entwining  cruel  hands, 
and  faces  cowed  at  last,  and  the  tears  falling  down 
unwilling,  haughty  cheeks.  That  threatening  spirit, 
exulting  in  Drusus’  death,  must  be  given  to  the 
executioner  in  the  gloomy  cell.  I  will  stop,  and 
leisurely  with  glad  eyes  gaze  on  naked  bodies  strewn 
on  the  unsightly  roads.  The  day  that  brings  so 
great  a  spectacle — let  dewy  Aurora  speed  it  hither 
on  her  saffron  car  ! 

1  A  list  of  the  honours  that  the  man  had  won  was  usually 
inscribed  on  the  base  of  a  statue. 


343 


OVID 


Adice  Ledaeos^  concordia  sidera^  fratres 
Templaque  Romano  conspicienda  foro. 

Quam  parvo  numeros  implevit  principis  aevo. 

In  pati-iam  meritis  occubuitque  sene.v  ! 

Nec  sua  conspiciet  (miserum  me)  munera  Drusus 
Nec  sua  prae  templi  nomina  fronte  leget. 

Saepe  Nero  inlaci-imans  summissa  voce  loquetur 
“  Cur  adeo  fratres  heu  sine  fratre  deos  }  ” 
Certus  eras  numquam  nisi  victor,  Druse,  reverti ; 

Haec  te  debuerant  tempora  ;  victor  eras. 
Consule  nos,  duce  nos,  duce  iam  victore  caremus  : 

Invenit  tota  maeror  in  Vrbe  locum. 

At  comitum  squalent  immissis  ora  capillis. 

Infelix,  Druso  sed  pia  turba  suo. 

Quorum  aliquis  tendens  in  te  sua  bracchia  dixit 
“  Cur  sine  me,  cur  sic  incomitatus  abis  ?  ” 

Quid  referam  de  te,  dignissima  coniuge  Druso 
Atque  eadem  Drusi  digna  parente  nurus  ? 

Par  bene  compositum  :  iuvenum  fortissimus  alter, 
Altera  tam  forti  mutua  cura  viro. 

Femina  tu  princeps,  tu  filia  Caesaris  illi 
Nec  minor  es  magni  coniuge  visa  lovis. 

Tu  concessus  amor,  tu  solus  et  ultimus  illi. 

Tu  requies  fesso  grata  laboris  eras. 

Te  moriens  per  verba  novissima  questus  abesse 
Et  mota  in  nomen  frigida  lingua  tuum. 

Infelix  recipis  non  quem  promiserat  ipse. 

Nec  qui  missus  erat,  nec  tuus  ille  redit, 

^  “Add,”  i. e,  to  the  honours  already  mentioned, 
had  erected  or  at  least  dedicated  a  temple  to  Castor  and 

344 


286 


290 


295 


300 


305 


310 


Drusus 

Pollux. 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


Add  too  the  Ledaean  brethren^  concordant  stars, 
and  the  temples  conspicuous  in  the  Roman  Forum.^ 
In  how  short  a  time  did  he  fulfil  the  office  of  a 
leader,  and  by  his  services  to  his  country  died  an 
old  man  !  Yet — woe  is  me  ! — Drusus  will  never  see 
his  bounty,  nor  read  his  name  upon  the  temple  s 
front.  Often  will  Nero  weeping  humbly  say ; 
“  Why  brotherless,  alas !  do  I  approach  the  brother 
gods  ?  ”  Thou  wast  resolved,  O  Drusus,  ne’er  to 
return  save  victorious ;  times  such  as  these  owed 
thee  to  us ;  victorious  thou  wert.  ’Tis  a  consul,  a 
leader,  a  leader  already  victorious  we  have  lost ! 
Lo  !  in  all  Rome  has  mourning  found  a  home.  But 
his  comrades  are  unsightly  to  behold  with  hair  un¬ 
kempt,  a  hapless  crowd,  but  faithful  to  their  Drusus. 
And  one  of  them,  stretching  out  his  arms  towards 
thee,  cried :  “  Why  goest  thou  without  me,  why 

thus  companionless  ?  ” 

What  shall  I  say  of  thee,  most  worthy  consort  of 
thy  Drusus,  worthy  daughter-in-law  of  Drusus’ 
mother?  2  A  pair  well  suited:  the  one  a  hero 
among  youths,  the  other  that  hero’s  darling,  as  she 
was  his.  Queen  among  women  wert  thou  to  him, 
and  daughter  of  Caesar,  nor  seemedst  thou  less  than 
the  wife  of  mighty  Jove.  Thou  wert  his  freely 
given,  his  last  and  only  love,  thou  wert  his  pleasant 
repose  from  weary  toil.  Thy  absence  did  he,  dying, 
in  his  last  words  bewail,  and  his  tongue,  though 
cold,  strove  to  pronounce  thy  name.  Hapless  one, 
thou  receivest  not  him  whom  he  himself  did  promise, 
not  him  who  was  sent  forth  :  that  spouse  of  thine 

2  She  was  Antonia,  mother  by  Drusus  of  Germanicus  and 
Claudius  the  Emperor,  and  daughter  of  Mark  Antony  and 
Octavia.  Her  elder  sister  was  grandmother  of  the  Emperor 
Nero. 


345 


OVID 


Nec  tibi  deletos  poterit  narrare  Sicambros, 

Ensibus  et  Suevos  terga  dedisse  suis. 

Fluminaque  et  montes  et  nomina  magna  locorum 
Et  siquid  miri  vidit  in  orbe  novo. 

Frigidus  ille  tibi  corpusque  refertur  inane,  315 

Quemque  premat  sine  te  sternitur  ecce  torus. 

Quo  raperis  laniata  comas  similisque  furenti? 

Quo  ruis  ?  attonita  quid  petis  ora  manu  ? 

Hoc  fuit  Andromache,  cum  vir  religatus  ad  axem 

Terruit  admissos  sanguinolentus  equos  ;  320 

Hoc  fuit  Euadne  tunc  cum  ferienda  coruscis 
Fulminibus  Capaneus  impavida  ora  dedit. 

Quid  mortem  tibi  maesta  rogas  amplexaque  natos 
Pignora  de  Druso  sola  relicta  tenes. 

Et  modo  per  somnos  agitaris  imagine  falsa  325 

Teque  tuo  Drusum  credis  habere  sinu. 

Et  subito  temptasque  manu  sperasque  receptum, 
Quaeris  et  in  vacui  parte  priore  tori  ? 

Ille  pio,  si  non  temere  haec  creduntur,  in  arvo 

Inter  honoratos  excipietur  avos,  330 

Magnaque  maternis  maioribus,  aequa  paternis 
Gloria  quadriiugis  aureus  ibit  equis, 

Regalique  habitu  curruque  superbus  eburno 
Fronde  triumphali  tempora  vinctus  erit. 

Accipient  iuvenem  Germanica  signa  ferentem  335 

Consulis  imperio  conspicuumque  decus, 
Gaudebuntque  suae  merito  cognomine  gentis. 

Quod  solum  domito  victor  ab  hoste  tulit. 

Vix  credent  tantum  rerum  cepisse  tot  annos. 

Magna  viri  latum  quaerere  facta  locum.  340 


^  One  of  the  Seven  against  Thebes  ;  for  his  death  see  Statius, 
Thebaid,  x  (suh  fin. ) 

^  i.e,  this  was  the  only  prize  of  victory  for  him. 

346 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 

returns  not,  nor  can  he  tell  thee  of  the  Sicambri  s 
ruin,  nor  how  the  Suevi  turned  their  backs  to  his 
swordsmen,  nor  of  the  rivers  and  the  mountains  and 
the  mighty  names  of  places,  and  of  all  the  wonders 
that  he  saw  in  that  new  world.  Cold  he  returns  to 
thee,  a  lifeless  corpse,  and  a  couch  is  strewn  for  him 
to  press  without  thee.  Whither  rushest  thou,  tearing 
thy  hair  and  like  to  a  mad  woman?  Whither 
hastenest  ?  Why  marrest  thou  thy  face  with  frenzied 
hand  ?  Such  a  sight  was  Andromache,  when  her 
husband  bound  all  bloody  to  the  axle  frightened 
the  galloping  steeds  ;  such  was  Evadne,  when  Capa¬ 
neus  ^  offered  his  unaffrighted  countenance  to  be 
struck  by  the  flashing  brand.  Why  dost  thou  sadly 
pray  for  death,  and  embracing  thy  children  hold  the 
only  pledges  left  thee  in  place  of  Drusus  ?  and  now 
in  thy  dreams  art  haunted  by  false  visions,  and 
believest  thou  hast  thy  Drusus  in  thy  arms?  and 
suddenly  dost  feel  with  thy  hand  and  hope  he  is 
thine  once  more,  and  search  the  desolate  couch 
where  once  he  lay  ?  He  in  the  fields  of  bliss,  if 
such  belief  is  not  vain,  will  be  welcomed  by  his 
honoured  forefathers,  and,  high  renowned  among  his 
mother’s  ancestors,  and  no  less  among  his  sire’s,  will 
ride  all  golden  in  a  four-horsed  chariot,  and  in  royal 
dress,  proud  in  his  ivory  car,  will  have  his  temples 
bound  with  triumphal  sprays.  They  will  receive  the 
hero  who  bears  the  standards  of  Germany  and  the 
illustrious  fame  of  consular  command,  and  they  will 
rejoice  in  the  well-won  surname  of  their  house, 
which  alone  ^  he  bore  in  triumph  from  the  conquered 
foe.  Scarce  will  they  believe  that  so  great  achieve¬ 
ment  filled  years  so  few,  they  will  think  a  hero’s 
mighty  deeds  demand  an  ample  space.  These 

347 


OVID 


Haec  ipsum  sublime  ferent,  haec,  optima  mater. 
Debuerint  luctus  attenuare  tuos. 

Femina  digna  illis  quos  aurea  condidit  aetas. 

Principibus  natis,  principe  digna  viro, 

Quid  deceat  Drusi  matrem  matremque  Neronis  345 
Aspice,  quo  sui'gas,  aspice,  mane  toro. 

Non  eadem  volgusque  decent  et  lumina  rerum  : 

Est  quod  praecipuum  debeat  ista  domus. 

Imposuit  te  alto  Fortuna  locumque  tueri 

1  ussit  honoratum  :  Livia,  perfer  onus.  350 

Ad  te  oculos  auresque  trahis,  tua  facta  notamus. 

Nec  vox  missa  potest  princqns  ore  tegi. 

Alta  mane  supi-aque  tuos  exurge  dolores 

Infragilemque  animum,  quod  potes,  usque  tene. 

An  melius  per  te  virtutum  exempla  petemus,  355 

Quam  si  Romanae  principis  edis  opus  ? 

Fata  manent  omnes,  omnes  expectat  avarus 
Portitor  et  turbae  vix  satis  una  ratis. 

1'endimus  huc  omnes,  metam  properamus  ad  unam. 
Omnia  sub  leges  Mors  vocat  atra  suas  360 

Ecce  necem  intentam  caelo  terraeque  fretoque 
Casurumque  triplex  vaticinantur  opus  : 

I  nunc  et  rebus  tanta  impendente  ruina 
In  te  solam  oculos  et  tua  damna  refer. 

Maximus  ille  quidem  iuvenum  spes  publica  vixit  365 
Et  qua  natus  erat  gloria  summa  domus ; 

Sed  mortalis  erat :  nec  tu  secura  fuisti 
Fortia  progenie  bella  gerente  tua. 

Vita  data  est  utenda,  data  est  sine  faenore  nobis 

Mutua  nec  certa  persolvenda  die.  370 


348 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


exploits  will  exalt  him  on  high,  these  exploits,  best 
of  mothers,  should  have  made  thy  sorrow  less.  O 
woman  worthy  of  those  men  whom  the  age  of  gold 
brought  forth,  worthy  of  thy  jn-incely  sons,  thy 
princely  consort,  see  what  becomes  the  mother  of 
Drusus  and  Nero’s  mother,  see  from  whose  couch 
thou  risest  in  the  morning  !  The  same  behaviour 
becomes  not  common  folk  and  our  country’s  lights ; 
a  special  duty  that  house  of  thine  doth  owe.  Fortune 
placed  thee  high,  and  bade  thee  guard  an  honoured 
station ;  bear  thy  burden,  Livia,  to  the  end.  Thou 
drawest  to  thee  ears  and  eyes,  we  mark  thy  doings, 
nor  can  the  voice  a  ruler’s  mouth  doth  utter  be 
concealed.  Remain  exalted  and  rise  above  thy  grief, 
and  keep  (thou  canst)  a  spirit  aye  unbroken.  Can 
we  find  better  patterns  of  virtues  in  thee  than  when 
thou  dost  the  work  of  a  Roman  queen  ?  Fate  awaits 
all ;  all  doth  the  greedy  ferryman  await,  and  the  one 
bark  that  scarce  holds  all  the  crowd.  Hither  we  all 
are  bound,  we  hurry  to  one  goal ;  black  Death 
summons  all  beneath  its  laws.  Lo  !  the  prophets 
sing  that  destruction  threatens  sky  and  earth  and 
sea,  and  that  the  triple  fabric  is  doomed  to  fall :  go 
now,  and  while  so  vast  a  ruin  o’erhangs  the  world, 
bring  back  all  eyes  to  thee  alone  and  to  thy  loss ! 
Mightiest  was  he  of  youths,  his  people’s  hope,  while 
yet  he  lived,  and  supreme  glory  of  the  house  that 
gave  him  birth  ;  but  he  w^as  mortal,  nor  wert  thou 
free  from  care  while  thy  son  waged  valiant  wais. 
Life  is  given  to  be  used ;  ^  ’tis  lent  to  us  without 
interest,  nor  to  be  paid  back  on  any  appointed  day. 

^  An  obvious  reminiscence  of  Lucretius’  famous  line, 
“  vitaque  mancipio  nulli  datur,  omnibus  usu,  3.  971. 


349 


OVID 


Fortuna  arbitriis  tempus  dispensat  iniquis  : 

Illa  rapit  iuvenes,  sustinet  illa  senes, 

Quaque  ruit  furibunda  ruit  totumque  per  orbem 
Fulminat  et  caecis  caeca  triumphat  equis. 

Regna  deae  immitis  parce  irritare  querendo,  375 

Sollicitare  animos  parce  potentis  erae. 

Quae  tamen  hoc  uno  ti’istis  tibi  tempore  venit, 

Saepe  eadem  rebus  favit  amica  tuis. 

Nata  quod  alte  es  quodque  es  fetibus  aucta  duobus. 
Quodque  etiam  magno  consociata  lovi,  380 

Quod  semper  domito  rediit  tibi  Caesar  ab  orbe. 

Gessit  et  invicta  prospera  bella  manu, 

Quod  spes  implerunt  maternaque  vota  Nerones, 

Quod  pulsus  totiens  hostis  utroque  duce  — 

Rhenus  et  Alpinae  valles  et  sanguine  nigro  385 

Decolor  infecta  testis  Isargus  aqua, 

Danu  vi  usque  rapax  et  Dacius  orbe  remoto 
Apulus  (huic  hosti  perbreve  Pontus,  iter) 
Armeniusque  fugax  et  tandem  Dalmata  supplex 

Summaque  dispersi  per  iuga  Pannonii,  390 

Et  modo  Germanus  Romanis  cognitus  orbis  : 

Aspice  quam  meritis  culpa  sit  una  minor. 

Adde  quod  est  absens  functus  nec  cernere  nati 
Semineces  oculos  sustinuere  tui. 

Qui  dolor  et  menti  lenissimus  influit  aegrae,  395 

Accipere  es  luctus  aure  coacta  tuos. 


^  Apulum  was  in  the  centre  of  the  Dacian  mountains  ;  Dacia 
was  bordered  on  the  east  by  the  Black  Sea. 

2  Besides  the  campaigns  of  Drusus  and  his  brother  in  the 
Alps,  Tiberius  advanced  to  the  Danube  in  12  b.c.,  while  Drusus 
fought  in  Germany.  The  relations  between  Rome  and  Persia 
were  settled  by  negotiation  in  20  b.c.,  after  Tiberius  had 
marched  into  Armenia  and  set  a  client  of  Rome  upon  the  throne. 

350 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


Fortune  ordains  the  time  at  her  own  unjust  will : 
youths  she  carries  off,  the  aged  she  supports  ;  her 
onset,  when  she  makes  it,  is  furious,  through  all  the 
world  her  lightnings  flash,  and  she  triumphs  blindly 
on  blind  steeds.  Offend  not  with  thy  complaints 
the  sway  of  the  stern  goddess,  vex  not  the  spirit  of 
that  powerful  queen.  Yet  the  same  power. that  at 
this  one  time  has  visited  thee  in  wrath  has  oft  been 
friendly  and  shown  favour  to  thy  fortunes.  For  that 
thou  wert  born  in  lofty  state,  blest  with  tw'O  sons, 
ay  and  made  the  partner  of  great  Jove,  that  Caesar 
ever  returned  from  mastering  the  world  to  thee,  and 
with  invincible  might  waged  prosperous  wars,  that 
the  Neros  fulfilled  thy  hopes  and  mother’s  prayers, 
that  under  cither’s  captaincy  the  foe  was  routed  so 
oft — witness  the  Rhine  and  Alpine  valleys  and 
Isargus,  whose  waters  the  dark  stain  of  gore  dis¬ 
colours,  and  rapacious  Danube,  and  the  Dacian 
Apulian  1  in  his  far-off  world  (for  this  foe  Pontus  is 
a  very  short  march  away),  and  the  Armenian,  ready 
to  flee,  and  the  Dalmatian,  at  last  a  suppliant,  and  the 
Pannonians  scattered  over  their  mountain  summits, 
and  the  German  world  that  Romans  but  late  have 
known  :  ^  see  how  many  the  merits  that  outweigh 
a  single  fault.  Add  that  he  died  far  away,  nor  had 
thine  eyes  to  endure  the  sight  of  thy  son’s  eyes  clos¬ 
ing  in  death,  and  that  (most  gently  thus  doth  sorrow 
steal  into  a  sick  mind)  ’twas  with  thine  ears  thou 
wast  compelled  to  receive  thy  sorrows ;  while  amid 


The  allusion  to  Pannonia  and  Dalmatia  can  hardly  be  to  the 
great  Pannonian  revolt  of  a.d.  6,  fifteen  years  after  Drusus 
death,  but  rather  to  the  operations  of  Tiberius  mentioned 
above. 


351 


OVID 


Praevertitque  metus  per  longa  pericula  luctum, 
Tu  quibus  auditis  anxia  mentis  eras  : 

Non  ex  praecipiti  dolor  in  tua  pectora  venit, 

Sed  per  mollitos  ante  timore  gradus, 
luppiter  ante  dedit  fati  mala  signa  cruenti, 
Flammifera  petiit  cum  tria  templa  manu  : 
lunonisque  gravis  nocte  impavidaeque  Minervae 
Sanctaque  et  immensi  Caesaris  icta  domus. 
Sidera  quin  etiam  caelo  fugisse  feruntur, 

Lucifer  et  solitas  destituisse  vias  ; 

Lucifer  in  toto  nulli  comparuit  orbe 
Et  venit  stella  non  praeeunte  dies  : 

Sideris  hoc  obitum  terris  instare  monebat 
Et  mergi  Stygia  nobile  lumen  aqua. 


At  tu,  qui  sujieres  maestae  solacia  matri. 

Comprecor,  illi  ipsi  conspiciare  senex. 

Perque  annos  diuturnus  eas  fratrisque  tuosque 
Et  vivat  nato  cum  sene  mater  anus. 

Eventura  precor  ;  deus  excusare  priora  415 

Dum  volet,  a  Druso  cetera  laeta  dabit. 

Tu  tamen  ausa  potes  tanto  indulgere  dolori. 

Longius  ut  nolis  (heu  male  fortis)  ali. 

Vix  etiam  fueras  paucas  vitalis  in  horas. 

Obtulit  invitae  quom  tibi  Caesar  opem  ;  420 

Admovitque  preces  et  ius  immiscuit  illis 
Aridaque  affusa  guttura  tinxit  aqua. 

Nec  minor  est  nato  servandae  cura  parentis  : 

H  ic  adhibet  blandas,  nec  sine  iure,  preces. 

Coniugis  et  nati  meritum  pervenit  ad  omnis  ;  425 

Coniugis  et  nati,  Livia,  sospes  ope  es. 

Supprime  iam  lacrimas  :  non  est  revocabilis  istis, 

Quem  semel  umbrifera  navita  lintre  tulit. 


352 


409  obitus  M8S. 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


long  perils,  the  hearing  of  which  kept  thy  mind 
anxious,  fear  anticipated  thy  mourning ;  not  abruptly 
did  sorrow  burst  into  thy  heart,  but  by  steps  that 
fear  had  already  made  gentle.  Jupiter  before  gave 
the  baleful  sign  of  bloody  fate,  when  he  assailed 
three  temples  with  fire-bearing  hand  ;  and  on  a  night 
grave  Juno’s  shrine  and  that  of  fearless  Minerva 
and  the  sacred  palace  of  all-powerful  Caesar  were 
struck.  Nay,  stars  also  .are  said  to  have  fled  the 
sky,  and  Lucifer  to  have  left  his  wonted  path : 
Lucifer  in  all  the  world  was  seen  of  none,  and  the 
day  came  unheralded  by  any  star :  this  gave  warn¬ 
ing  that  a  star’s  destruction  threatened  the  earth, 
and  that  a  noble  light  should  be  sunk  in  Stygian 
water's. 

But  thou  who  dost  survive  to  console  thy  sorrow¬ 
ing  mother,  live,  I  pray,  that  she  herself  ma.y  see 
thy  old  age.  Live  long,  and  pass  thy  brother’s  and 
thine  own  allotted  years,  and  let  thine  aged  mother 
live  with  her  aged  son.  My  prayer  shall  be  fulfilled  ; 
heaven,  while  it  would  fain  excuse  the  past,  will 
make  all  else  happy  after  Drusus.  Yet  thou  canst 
dare  to  indulge  so  violent  a  grief  that  thou  re- 
fusest  with  unwise  courage  to  take  food.  Scarce 
hadst  thou  been  like  to  live  for  even  a  few  hours, 
when  Caesar  brought  thee  succour  apinst  thy  will ; 
he  urged  thee  with  prayers,  and  mingled  claims  of 
right  therein,  and  pouring  water  he  moistened  thy 
parched  throat.  Nor  had  thy  son  less  care  to  save 
his  parent ;  he  made  persuasive  entreaty,  and  with 
good  right.  The  merit  of  thy  consort  and  of  thy 
son  hath  reached  to  all :  by  the  aid  of  thy  consort 
and  of  thy  son,  O  Livia,  thou  didst  survive.  Refrain 
at  last  thy  tears  ;  they  will  not  call  him  back  whom 
once  the  ferryman  has  borne  in  the  ghost-laden  skiff. 

353 


A  A 


OVID 


Hectora  tot  fratres^  tot  deflevere  sorores 

Et  pater  et  coniux  Astyanaxque  puer  430 

Et  longaeva  parens  :  tamen  ille  redemptus  ad  ignes 
Nullaque  per  Stygias  umbra  renavit  aquas. 

Contigit  hoc  etiam  Thetidi :  populator  Achilles 
Iliaca  ambustis  ossibus  arva  premit. 

Illi  caeruleum  Panope  matertera  crinem  435 

Solvit  et  immensas  fletibus  auxit  aquas, 

Consortesque  deae  centum  longaevaque  magni 
Oceani  coniux  Oceanusque  pater 
Et  Thetis  ante  omnes  :  sed  nec  Thetis  ipsa  neque  omnes 
Mutarunt  avidi  tristia  iura  dei.  440 

Prisca  quid  huc  repeto  ?  Marcellum  Octavia  flevit 
Et  flevit  populo  Caesar  utrumque  palam. 

Sed  rigidum  ius  est  et  inevitabile  Mortis, 

Stant  rata  non  ulla  fila  tenenda  manu. 

Ipse  tibi  emissus  nebulosum  litus  Averni,  445 

Si  liceat,  forti  verba  tot  ore  sonet ; 

“  Quid  numeras  annos  ?  vixi  maturior  annis  ; 

Acta  senem  faciunt :  haec  numeranda  tibi. 

His  aevom  fuit  implendum,  non  segnibus  annis  : 

Hostibus  eveniat  longa  senecta  meis.  450 

Hoc  atavi  monuere  mei  proavique  Nerones 
(Fregerunt  ambo  Punica  bella  duces), 

H  oc  domus  ista  docet,  per  te  mea,  Caesaris  alti ; 

Exitus  hic,  mater,  debuit  esse  meus. 

Nec  meritis  (quamquam  ipsa  iuvant  magis)  afuit  illis, 
Mater,  honos  :  titulis  nomina  plena  vides.  466 


354 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


For  Hector  all  his  many  brothers,  all  his  sisters  wept, 
and  his  sire  and  wife  and  child  Astyanax  and  aged 
mother  :  yet  was  he  ransomed  but  for  the  pyre, 
and  no  ghost  swam  back  across  the  Stygian  pools. 
This  befell  Thetis  also  :  Achilles  the  destroyer  rests 
his  charred  bones  upon  the  Ilian  fields.  For  him 
Panope,  his  mother’s  sister,  loosed  her  cerulean 
hair,  and  swelled  the  boundless  waters  with  her 
tears,  and  a  hundred  comrades  of  the  goddess,  and 
mighty  Ocean’s  aged  spouse,  and  father  Ocean,  and 
Thetis  before  all ;  but  not  Thetis  herself  nor  all  of 
them  could  change  the  stern  laws  of  the  greedy 
god.  Why  do  I  tell  old  stories  here  ?  Octavia  wept 
Marcellus,  and  each  in  the  sight  of  the  people  did 
Caesar  weep.  But  fixed  and  inevitable  is  death’s 
law,  unswerving  are  the  threads,  not  to  be  checked 
by  any  hand.  He  himself  escaping  (were  it  lawful) 
the  misty  shore  of  Acheron,  would  with  brave  mouth 
proclaim  these  words;  ^‘Why  dost  thou  number 
years  ?  I  have  lived  to  a  riper  age  than  years  can 
show.  ’Tis  deeds  make  old:  these  must  thou 
number :  with  these  was  my  life  fulfilled,  not  with 
tardy  years ;  let  a  long  old  age  befall  my  foes. 
This  lesson  my  grandsires  taught,  and  the  Neros 
who  were  before  them  (both  chieftains^  shattered 
the  Punic  hosts),  this  is  the  lesson  of  lofty  Caesar’s 
house,  that  is  mine  through  thee  :  such  an  end,  O 
mother,  was  mine  by  right.  Nor  to  those  my  merits 
(though  by  themselves  they  better  please)  has 
honour  been  wanting  :  thou  seest  my  name  decked 

1  They  were  Appius  Claudius  and  C.  Claudius  Nero : 
the  former  began  the  invasion  of  Sicily  and  the  first 
Punic  war,  the  latter  fought  in  the  battle  of  Metaurus, 
‘207  B.c. 

355 

A  A  2 


OVID 


Consul  et  ignoti  victor  Germanicus  orbis. 

Cui  fuit  heu  mortis  publica  causa,  legor : 

Cingor  Apollinea  victricia  tempora  lauro 

Et  sensi  exequias  funeris  ipse  mei,  460 

Decursusque  virum  notos  mihi  donaque  regum 
Cunctaque  per  titulos  oppida  lecta  suos. 

Et  quo  me  officio  portaverit  illa  iuventus. 

Quae  fuit  ante  meum  tam  generosa  torum. 

Denique  laudari  sacrato  Caesaris  ore  465 

Emerui,  lacrimas  elicuique  deo. 

Et  cuiquam  miserandus  ero  ?  iam  comprime  fletus. 

Hoc  ego  qui  flendi  sum  tibi  causa  rogo.” 

Haec  sentit  Drusus,  si  quid  modo  sentit  in  umbra. 

Nec  tu  de  tanto  crede  minora  viro.  470 

Est  tibi  (sitque  precor)  multorum  filius  instar 
Parsque  tui  partus  est  tibi  salva  prior ; 

Est  coniux,  tutela  hominum,  quo  sospite  vestram, 

Livia,  funestam  dedecet  esse  domum. 


356 


A  POEM  OF  CONSOLATION 


with  titles ;  as  ‘  consul  ’  dost  thou  read  of  me,  as 
conqueror  of  Germany,  a  world  unknown,  who  died, 
alas !  in  his  country’s  cause  :  my  victorious  temples 
are  wreathed  in  Apollo’s  laurel,  and  I  have  felt  the 
obsequies  of  my  own  funeral,  and  the  familiar 
solemn  march  of  men,  and  the  gifts  of  kings,  and 
all  the  cities  read  upon  their  placards  ^ ;  and  with 
what  dutifulness  those  youths  carried  me,  who  stood 
so  nobly  born  before  my  pyre.  Last,  I  have  meed 
of  praise  from  Caesar’s  sacred  lips,  and  drew  tears 
from  a  god.  And  shall  I  need  any’s  pity  ?  Refrain 
at  last  thy  weeping.  This  I  ask,  who  am  thy  weep¬ 
ing’s  cause.  ”  'Ihis  does  Drusus  feel,  if  he  feels 
aught  in  the  shadows,  nor  believe  thou  less  of  so 
great  a  hero.  Thou  hast,  and  mayst  thou  ever  have, 
I  pray,  a  son  who  is  a  pattern  to  many ;  may  the 
elder  part  of  thy  offspring  be  preserved  to  thee. 
Thou  hast  a  spouse,  the  guardian  of  mankind,  and 
while  he  lives,  it  becomes  not  thy  house,  O  Livia, 
to  mourn. 

^  Placards  on  which  were  inscribed  the  names  of  captured 
cities  were  carried  in  the  triumphal  procession. 


357 


P  4^ 


v^.i*  '  *>'*..  I  f>‘^ 

.*<  -  '*  ■''^♦llfc./^?  «•.  t-r  '^»!.ry 

*'■  i  '""*  ;i' ••  r»'^  i  ■<••«'  '*  fii‘' "i  t'  i  ff£  ;  'V, 

*3i  '  ■‘'  /  vA 

.  -  -  *!.v^iic'^*.,f-»i«rfiflr' 

ifj» <>' i.- *-^  . '' '• '  *)''^**' '1  .i’’i^ 

'  i'  *  1 'i  '  r  *  f 

!*T.-s:t^  *  ,>■■’- -■'  ■,  './-•*■■ 

<■•  ^  r*'*^it  '•  ■/1  >- '«^  •  ■'•  .  *  >fi.*J  «■«#*  ’’  vkU, 

i»5|  '■•/i 

■  ^ *''.  ^f*  '> ii3 

-«t.  I*  ;  ♦«Hi^"t||ji|.*»  iki*M  .  u*  , 

■'  ^-J-p  a.  ^  '  ‘'-i-? 

•••'  f/  .'■■  ■y»,*tf3l|  ■ 

«*•  •  >  V  J  •  ■  *  „  *  IF  f 

•  ■  i'‘.,  'pa*':  .  tCrf^’  t'f  i  . 

liui.fiK  '  \  ‘fi.  <*■  >«■  t  ■  fi  •}'  ■  y  jl  ^  tv 

.  .-.‘.l  •  V,  f'i''  -r.}  iv  ■^Xii»'‘{.-j/'  • 

■ ,  .•  •  ;.V-.  ■-;'  ' 

'•  -"W  *  ^  ’  t,; 

iitei  '■‘v  • 


,  *  *  -•>  *•'  '^-  ■* 

•  •  I  • 


.-V 


i  •< »»  ^  «. 


t'*^- 


!►. 


.  t 


r.; 

•V 


•'-v«. 


APPENDIX 

ON  CURSING  IN  ANCIENT  TIMES 

The  exti’aordinary  outburst  of  the  Ibis,  a  piece  of 
writing  probably  unique  in  literature^  may  seem  to 
justify  some  remarks  of  a  more  general  nature  con¬ 
cerning  curses  in  ancient  times.  It  is  a  natuial 
instinct  to  call  upon  divine  powers  to  hear  and  to 
support  any  expression  of  ill-will  against  an  enemy, 
and  consequently  we  find  imprecations  assuming  a 
highly  solemn  character  from  this  association ;  all 
readers  of  Greek  Tragedy  are  familiar  with  the  ’Apa, 
for  instance,  pronounced  against  Polynices  by  Oedipus 
in  Sophocles’  Oedipus  Coloneus  ”  : 

1383-1396  ;  “And  thou— begone,  abhorred  of  me 
and  unfathered !— begone,  thou  vilest  of  the  vile, 
and  with  thee  take  these  my  curses  which  I  call 
down  on  thee— never  to  vanquish  the  land  of  thy 
race,  no,  nor  ever  return  to  hill-girt  Argos,  but  by 
a  kindred  hand  to  die,  and  slay  him  by  whom  thou 
hast  been  driven  out.  Such  is  my  prayer,  and  I 
call  the  paternal  darkness  of  dread  Tartarus  to  take 
thee  unto  another  home, — I  call  the  spirits  of  this 
place, — I  call  the  destroying  God,  who  hath  set 
that  dreadful  hatred  in  you  twain.  Go,  with  these 
words  in  thine  ears — go,  and  publish  it  to  the 
Cadmeans  all,  yea,  and  to  thine  own  staunch  allies, 
that  Oedipus  hath  divided  such  honours  to  Ins  sons. 
(Jebb’s  translation.) 


359 


APPENDIX 


Such  a  curse  was  felt  to  have  a  sort  of  living 
force,  and  was,  in  fact,  personified,  as  in  Soph. 
Electra,  111,  where  Agamemnon’s  curse  is  invoked 
as  TTOTvta  'Apd,  and  distinguished  from  the  Erinyes, 
or  ministers  of  vengeance  that  fulfil  it.  Hence  the 
idea  of  a  curse  as  something  that  endures  from  one 
generation  to  another. 

Again,  the  State  could  pronounce  an  ’Apd  against 
individuals  or  generally  against  all  who  acted 
treasonably  or  sacrilegiously,  the  usual  formula  being 
‘Het  him  be  utterly  ruined  (i^dXr))  himself  and  all 
his  race  ”  ;  such  a  curse  had  force  in  Greek  Law, 
see  Ziebarth  in  Hermes,  xxx.  p.  57  :  “  Der  Fluch  im 
griechischen  Recht.”  It  was  not  the  custom,  how¬ 
ever,  to  invoke  gods  in  such  oaths,  at  least  in  such 
as  were  purely  political ;  in  curses  pronounced  against 
violators  of  shrines  they  would  naturally  be  invoked. 
In  Latin  “  devotio  ”  means  rather  the  offering  of 
oneself  to  the  anger  of  the  gods  for  the  good  of  the 
community,  as  in  Livy,  7.  6,  8.  9,  25.  14,  where 
“  exsecratus  ”  is  the  word  used  (cf.  too  the  story  of 
Caligula  in  Suet.  Cal.  27),  although  it  was  felt  that 
he  who  so  devoted  himself  carried  the  curse  with 
him  into  the  enemy’s  ranks,  as  in  Livy,  10.  28  : 

“  Quom  secundum  sollennes  precationes  adiecisset, 
‘  prae  se  agere  sese  formidinem  ac  fugam,  caedemque 
ac  cruorem,  caelestium,  inferorum  iras  :  contacturum 
funebribus  diris  signa  tela  arma  hostium ;  locumque 
eundem  suae  pestis  et  Gallorum  ac  Samnitium  fore  ’ ; 
haec  exsecratus  in  se  hostesque,  etc.” 

In  Livy,  10.  38,  the  Samnites  take  a  dreadful  oath 
and  bind  themselves  on  pain  of  awful  penalties  to 
fight  the  Romans:  this  is  called  “exsecratio”  or 
360 


APPENDIX 


detestatio.”  For  devotio  ”  meaning  simply  calling 
down  a  curse  on  a  foe,  cf.  Macrobius,  3.  13,  who 
speaks  of  Carthage,  Corinth  and  other  towns  as 
having  been  cursed  (^'devota  ). 

When  we  turn  to  individual  or  private  impre¬ 
cations,  we  find  that  the  need  of  supernatural 
support,  or  perhaps  rather  of  the  certainty  of  that 
support,  is  very  much  greater.  If  you  can  compel, 
rather  than  simply  ask,  the  powers  to  back  your 
curse,  you  arc  obviously  in  a  much  stronger  position  , 
hence  magic,  which  is  exactly  that,  the  compelling 
or  binding  of  supernatural  power.  The  words  used 
express  that,  in  Greek  KaraSctr/xos,  lit.  a  binding- 
down,  in  Latin,  “  defixio,”  a  fixing-  or  fastening-down, 
with  reference  rather  to  nailing  down;  Audollent 
is  probably  right  in  comparing  the  nails  of  Necessity 
in  Horace,  Odes,  1.  35,  17.  3,  24.  5.  Magic,  of 
course,  was  used  very  widely  in  the  ancient  world ; 
its  uses  were  necromantic,  or  the  evocation  of  super¬ 
natural  powers  to  gain  knowledge  of  the  future  or 
counsel  in  some  matter,  amatory,  or  the  gaining  of 
the  affections  of  some  man  or  woman,  medicinal,  or 
healing  of  some  wound  or  disease,  and  indeed  for 
the  fulfilment  of  almost  any  wish  or  purpose  what¬ 
ever.  One  important  class  is  that  of  cursing  ;  cursing 
by  magic,  says  R.  Wiinsch,  was  known  in  Europe 
from  the  4th  cent.  b.c.  down  to  the  6th  cent,  after 
Christ.  Egyptian  papyri  have  been  found  containing 
proper  formulae  for  use  in  magic  of  all  kinds,  while 
the  favourite  method  of  delivering  the  curse  was  to 
write  it  on  a  lead  tablet,  and  insert  the  tablet  m 
some  tomb ;  in  this  way  the  curse  was,  as  it  were, 
“posted”  to  the  powers  below.  Large  numbers  of 
these  have  been  discovered,  and  may  be  read  in  the 

361 


APPENDIX 


editions  of  Wiinsch  (C.  /.  A.  vol.  iii,  Appendix,  1897, 
Sethianische  Fluchungstafeln  aus  Rom,  1898,  Antike 
Fluchtafeln,  1907),  Audollent  [Dejixionem  Tahellae, 
1904),  etc. 

Curses  and  threats  are  often  directed  against  the 
deity  invoked,  to  make  the  compulsion  more  effective, 
as  in  the  passage  in  Lucan,  6.  507  sqq.,  where 
Erichtho  threatens  the  Furies,  or  in  Statius,  Theb. 
4.  470  sqq.  ;  or  against  the  disease,  for  instance,  as 
in  the  charm  “  Recede  ab  illo  Gaio  Seio,  Solomon 
te  sequitur”  (see  R.  Heim,  Incantamenta  Magica, 
pp.  479-82).  Threatening  directed  against  deities 
frequently  forms  part  of  ancient  ritual,  e.g.  the 
cursing  at  the  sacrifice  of  Heracles,  jlovdoiva<;,  at 
Lindos,  when  the  Dorians  prayed  for  a  bad  hay- 
harvest  ;  cf.  too  the  advice  in  Stobaeus,  “  Blaspheme 
when  sowing  cummin  ;  that  is  the  way  to  make  it 
grow  well.”  The  idea  is  that  the  gods  are  hostile 
on  principle,  and  so  you  must  ask  the  opposite  of 
what  you  want.  The  gods,  in  fact,  are  argerXioi,  act 
out  of  ‘"‘^pure  cussedness,”  cf  Homer,  II.  2.  112,  24. 
33,  etc.,  and  must  be  treated  like  the  peasant  who 
pulls  his  pig  backwards  to  get  it  into  the  stye 
(S.  Eitrem,  Papyri  Osloenses,  p.  36  sqq.). 

One  feature  of  magic  cursings  is  what  is  known 
as  the  dSvyarov,  i.e.  the  appeal  to  something  im¬ 
possible:  the  magician  prays  that  the  order  of 
nature  may  be  inverted  unless  the  deities  do  what 
he  wants,  the  point  being  that,  as  a  magician,  he  is 
able  to  bring  this  about,  and  can  therefore  really 
put  pressure  upon  them.  This  became  a  recognised 
liteiary  ornament ;  perhaps  the  most  famous  example 
of  it  is  Euripides,  Medea,  410  :  ’'AvwTrora/rwv  hpSv 
Xoipovai  Trayat,  etc.,  Back  streams  the  wave  on  the 
362 


APPENDIX 


ever-running  river”  (G.  Murray);  cf.  Horaee,  Odes, 
1.  29.  10;  Epod.  5.  78;  Ovid,  Trist.  1.  8.  1 ;  Ibis, 
31-40;  Virgil,  Ecl.  1.  60;  Propertius,  1.  15.  29,2. 
15.  30,  ps.  ;  Virgil,  Dirae,  4-8,  98-101.  Eitrem  {op. 
cit.  p.  70)  gives  a  parallel  from  “  a  very  impressive 
poem  from  the  old  Norse  and  Icelandic  literature 
(?  13th  cent.)  which  is  a  real  magic  imprecation  in 
the  style  of  the  Dirae  and  the  Ibis,  viz.  the  Busluboen 
(F.  Jonsson,  Korskislandsk  Skjaldedigining,  B.  ii.  p. 
350  ff.).  Here  the  old  woman  Busla  invokes  all 
sorts  of  evils  upon  the  king  Ring,  who  is  going  to 
kill  his  two  sons  :  May  the  invisible  genii  lose  their 
way,  may  things  unheard  of  happen,  rocks  be  shaken, 
worlds  be  confused,  the  weather  be  worsened,  tumult 
rise — unless  thou,  king  Ring,  givest  mercy  to  Heriod 
and  safety  to  Bagas  Bose.  Busla  goes  on  calling 
down  all  sorts  of  bodily  evils  upon  the  king  (may 
vipers  knaw  thy  heart),  also  evils  when  sailing, 
riding,  dwelling  at  home  or  in  his  bed  (may  dogs 
gnaw  thee  to  death  and  thy  soul  sink  into  hell). 

We  may  now  look  at  some  magical  curses  taken 
from  the  lead  tablets  discovered  in  various  places  in 
Europe  and  North  Africa  : 

1.  From  Megara  (C.  I.  A.  iii.  App.  =  Dejixionum 
Tabellae  Atticae,  ed.  Wiinsch,  p.  xiii :  Antike  Finch- 
tafeln,  1  :  Audollent,  Dejixionum  Tabellae,  p.  75) — 
1st  or  2nd  cent.  p.  Chr. 

we  doom  them  and  anathematize  them. 
Althaia  Kore,  who  huntest  on  the  mountains,  Hecate, 
Selene  .  .  .  these  we  anathematize.  Body  spirit 
soul  understanding  mind  perception  life  heart  with 
Hecatean  words  with  abraic  ( =  magical)  oaths  .  .  . 
bidden  by  the  sacred  names  and  abriac  oaths  .  .  . 

363 


APPENDIX 


hairs  head  brain  visage  ears  eyebrows  nostrils  .  .  . 
teeth  jaws  .  .  .  blood  flesh  to  burn  .  .  .  which  may 
he  suffer. 

2.  From  Carthage  {D.  T.  A.  p.  xvii :  Audollent, 
p.  323),  ?  3rd  cent.  p.  Chr.  The  writing  is  surrounded 
with  letters  and  magic  signs. 

Semesilam  damatameneus  lesnnallelam  laikam 
ermoubele  iakoub  ia  ioerbeth  iopakerbeth  eomaltha- 
beth  allasan.  Curse ;  I  cast  a  spell  upon  you  by 
the  mighty  names  that  ye  bind  every  limb  and  every 
sinew  of  Victoricus  whom  earth  bore,  mother  of  every 
living  thing,  the  charioteer  of  the  Blues,  and  of  his 
horses  which  he  will  drive.  Juvenis  and  Advocatus 
and  Bubalus,  belonging  to  Secundinus,  and  Pompei- 
anus  and  Baianus  and  Victor  and  Eximius,  belonging 
to  Victoricus,  and  Dominator,  belonging  to  the 
Messallae,  and  all  that  are  yoked  with  them  :  bind 
their  legs  and  their  speed  and  their  leaping  and 
their  running,  dim  their  eyes  that  they  may  not  see, 
constrict  their  life  and  heart  that  they  may  not 
breathe.  As  this  cock  is  bound  in  arms  and  feet 
and  head,  so  bind  the  legs  and  the  arms  and  the 
head  and  the  heart  of  \  ictoricus,  the  Blue  charioteer, 
to-morrow,  and  the  horses  that  he  will  drive,  Juvenis 
and  Advocatus  and  Baibalus  and  Eaureatus,  belong¬ 
ing  to  Secundinus,  and  Pompeianus  and  Baianus  and 
\  ictor  and  Eximius,  belonging  to  Victoricus,  and 
Dominatus,  belonging  to  Messallae,  and  all  that  are 
yoked  with  them.  Further,  I  cast  a  spell  on  you  in 
the  name  of  the  heavenly  god  above,  who  sitteth 
upon  the  Cherubim,  who  set  bounds  to  the  earth 
and  parted  the  sea,  lao  Abriao  Arbathiao  Adonai 
Sabao,  that  ye  bind  Victoricus,  the  Blue  charioteer, 

364 


APPENDIX 


and  the  horses  that  he  will  drive.  Juvenis  and 
Advocatus,  belonging  to  Secundinus,  and  Pompeianus 
and  Baianus  and  Victor  and  Eximius,  belonging  to 
Victoricus,  and  Dominatus,  belonging  to  Messalla, 
that  they  come  not  to  victory  in  the  Circus  to-morrow. 
Now  !  now  !  quickly  !  quickly  ! 

3.  From  the  amphitheatre  at  Carthage  {Ant. 
Fluchtaf.  4,  Audollent,  p.  336),  aVc.  200  p.  Chr. 
Latin. 

The  lines  of  the  following  are  written  over  the 
picture  of  a  serpent-headed  man  (?  Typhon-Seth, 
the  evil  demon  of  magic)  with  a  spear  in  his  right 
hand  and  a  thunderbolt  in  his  left. 

Slay  exterminate  wound  Gallicus  son  of  Prima  in 
this  hour  in  the  ring  of  the  amphitheatre  .  .  .  bind 
his  feet  his  limbs  his  senses  his  inward  parts.  Bind 
Gallicus  son  of  Prima  that  he  slay  nor  bear  nor  bull 
with  one  stroke,  nor  slay  with  two  strokes,  nor  slay  beai 
or  bull  with  three  strokes.  In  the  name  of  the  living- 
omnipotent  God  perform  this.  Now  !  now  !  quickly  ! 
quickly  !  let  the  bear  crush  him  and  wound  him  ! 

4.  From  Puteoli  {A7il.  Fluchtaf.  2).  With  refer¬ 
ence  to  this  “  hymn  of  hate,”  it  may  be  noticed  that 
Michael  has  the  duty  of  bringing  curses  to  the 
notice  of  infernal  powers. 

lao  El  Michael  Nephtho.  May  Gains  Stalcius 
Liberarius  (acc.  to  Wiinsch  =  Stlaccius  Liberalis) 
son  of  Philista  be  hated  by  Lollia  Rufina,  be  hated 
by  Haplus  (=  Simplex),  be  hated  by  Eutychus,  be 
hated  by  Celer,  be  hated  by  Rufus,  be  hated  by  the 
whole  household  of  Rufina,  be  hated  by  Polybius,  be 
hated  by  Anomis,  be  hated  by  Thebe. 


365 


APPENDIX 


5.  From  Athens  (Audollent,  p.  83)  circ.  300  p. 
Chr.  This  tablet  had  been  pierced  five  times  with 
a  nail. 

I  bind  Iheagenes,  tongue  and  soul  and  the  word 
{i.e.  the  evidence)  which  he  is  devising ;  and  I  bind 
Pyrrhias  the  cook^  his  tongue  and  soul,  and  the 
word  which  he  is  devising ;  and  I  bind  the  wife  of 
Pyrrhias,  tongue  and  soul ;  and  I  bind  Kerkyon  the 
cook  and  Dokimos  the  cook,  tongue  and  soul  and 
the  word  which  they  are  devising ;  and  1  bind 
Kineas,  tongue  and  soul  and  the  w'ord  which  he  is 
devising  with  Theagenes ;  and  I  bind  Seuthes, 
tongue  and  soul  and  the  word  which  he  is  devising, 
feet  and  hands,  eyes  and  mouth ;  and  I  bind 
Lamprias,  tongue  and  soul  and  the  word  which 
he  is  devising ;  hands  and  feet,  eyes  and  mouth  ; 
all  these  I  bind,  cause  to  disappear,  entomb,  defix  ; 
that  they  shall  never  appear  in  the  court  and  before 
the  judge,  should  they  work  against  me,  neither  in 
word  nor  deed. 

It  will  be  seen  that  what  is  done  to  the  tablet 
containing  the  spell  is  thought  of  as  happening  to 
the  victims  of  it :  hence  the  piercing  of  the  tablet 
with  the  nail. 

6.  From  Santones  (Audollent,  p.  168),  a.d.  172. 
Latin. 

I  call  down  upon  the  persons  written  below, 
Lentinus  and  Tasgillus,  that  they  go  to  Pluto  and 
go  hence  to  Proserpine.  Just  as  this  pup  has  hurt 
nobody,  so  .  .  .  nor  may  they  be  able  to  win  this 
lawsuit :  just  as  the  mother  of  this  pup  could  not 
defend  it,  so  neither  may  their  advocates  be  able  to 
366 


APPENDIX 


defend  them ;  so  may  these  enemies  be  turned  away 
from  the  suit ;  as  this  pup  is  turned  away  and  can¬ 
not  rise,  so  neither  may  they ;  so  may  they  be 
transfixed  as  it  is ;  as  in  this  tomb  the  animals 
(explained  by  And.  as  the  corpses  in  the  tomb)  are 
dumb  and  cannot  rise,  so  neither  they  .  .  .  Altra- 
catetracati  gallara  precata  egdarata,  etc. 

7.  From  Cyprus  (Audollent,  p.  54).  One  of  a 
large  number  that  all  begin  with  the  same  formula, 
four  hexameter  lines  ;  a  great  part  consists  of  names 
of  deities,  or  of  the  mysterious  words  and  sounds 
known  as  ’E^ecria  ypa^/xara,  what  Lucian  describes 
as  ^apj^dpiKa  TLva.  kui  aLcrrjp.a  6y6p,dTa  Kal  t7oXv<tv\- 
A,a/3a,  Menippus,  9  ('*  barbaris  and  senseless  and 
many-syllabled  names  ”). 

Deities  that  are  beneath  the  earth  and  deities 
that  are  fathers  of  our  fathers  and  mothers  equal  to 
men,  ye  who  lie  here  and  ye  who  are  set  there 
having  first  taken  the  grievous  soul  from  the  heart, 
take  away  from  Krateros  the  fierceness  that  he  hath 
affainst  me  Kallias  and  the  wrath,  and  rob  him  of 
his  power  and  might  and  make  him  weak  and  voice- 
less  and  breathless,  weak  toward  me  Kallias.  I 
conjure  you  by  the  great  gods  Masomasimablaboio 

Eumazo,  etc.,  etc . gods  of  the  underworld, 

take  Krateros  .  .  .  the  fierceness  and  the  anger, 
etc.,  and  deliver  him  to  the  doorkeeper  of  Hades 
Mathyruphramenon  and  him  that  is  set  over  the 

gate  and  the  bars  of  heaven  Sterxerx,  etc . 

I  invoke  upon  you  the  king  of  the  dumb  demons; 
hear  ye  the  great  name,  for  the  great  Sisochor 
wdio  bringeth  out  the  gates  of  Hades  commandeth 
you,  and  bind  my  adversary  Krateros  and  put  to 

367 


APPENDIX 


sleep  his  tongue  his  fierceness,  etc.,  that  Krateros 
may  not  be  able  to  oppose  me  in  any  matte 
conjure  you,  demons  multitudinous  and  slain  by 
violence  and  untimely  dead  and  unprovided  with 
burial,  by  the  earth-shatterer  {i.e.  Kecate)  who 
brought  down  the  limbs  of  the  limb-bearer  and  the 
limb-bearer  himself.^  I  conjure  you  by  Achelo- 
morphoth  who  is  the  only  god  upon  earth  Osous 
oisornophris  ousrapio  do  that  which  is  written 
herein  .  .  .  gods  of  the  underworld  and  Hecate  of 
the  underworld  and  Hermes  of  the  underworld  and 
Pluto  and  the  Erinyes  beneath  the  earth  and  ye 
who  lie  here  below  untimely  and  nameless  Eumazon, 
take  away  the  voice  of  Krateros  against  me  Kallias 
Masomacho ;  we  entrust  to  you  the  muzzling  of 
Krateros,  give  up  liis  name  to  the  gods  of  the 
underworld.  .  .  .  These  will  wholly  accomplish  for 
me  and  will  muzzle  my  adversary  Krateros ;  w’^ake 
up  for  me,  thou  that  holdest  the  subterranean 
kingdom  of  all  the  Erinyes.  I  conjure  you  by  the 
gods  in  Hades  .  .  .  Aothiomos  iioieioegooeoiphri  he 
that  in  heaven  hath  his  ethereal  kingdom  Miothi- 
lamps  in  heaven  lao  .  .  .  Eablephauben  thanato- 
poutoer.  I  conjure  Bathumia,  etc.  .  .  I  conjure  the 
gods  from  Kronos  onward  Ablanathanalba  sisopetron 
take  Krateros  the  adversary  of  me  Kallias.  .  .  . 

8.  Fi'om  Attica  (Audollent,  p.  102). 

I  doom  and  devote  to  the  messengers  of  the 
underworld  Hermes  of  the  underworld  Hecate  of 
the  underworld  to  Pluto  and  Kore  and  Persephone 
and  to  the  Fates  of  the  underworld  and  to  all  the 
gods  and  to  Kei’beros,  guardian  .  .  .  and  to  shiver¬ 
ing  and  to  the  daily  fever  of  him  that  holds  and 

368 


APPENDIX 


releases  not ;  I  doom  them  to  be  senseless  ,  .  . 
1  .:#m  all  things  .  .  .  mouth  shoulders  arms  breast 

stornach  back  abdomen  thighs  .  .  .  Paulos  the 
stone-mason  .  .  . 

9.  From  Carthage  (Audollent,  p.  341 ;  Wiinsch, 
Neue  Fluchtafeln,  Rhein.  Mus.  1900^  p.  260-6). 
Latin. 

Bachachuch  .  .  .  who  art  a  great  deity  in  Egypt, 
bind,  utterly  bind  Maurussus  the  hunter  whom 
Felicitas  bore;  lekri,  take  away  his  sleep,  let  not 
Maurussus  sleep  whom  Felicitas  bore;  Parpaxin,  god 
almighty,  bring  to  the  infernal  abodes  Maurussus 
whom  Felicitas  bore  ;  Noktoukit  who  possessest  the 
regions  of  Italy  and  Campania,  who  wert  drawn 
through  the  Acherusian  lake,  bring  to  the  Tartarean 
abodes  within  seven  days  Maurussus  whom  Felicitas 
bore ;  Butubachk  deity  who  possessest  Spain  and 
Africa  who  alone  passest  through  the  sea,  pass 
through  the  soul  and  spirit  of  Maurussus  whom 
Felicitas  bore ;  pass  through  every  remedy  and 
every  phylactery  and  every  safeguard  and  every 
anointing  of  oil ;  and  bring  him,  bind  him,  bind  him 
utterly  .  .  .  cany  off,  take  away  consume  (apstimatis 
desumatis  consumatis)  the  heart  limbs  inward  parts 
entrails  of  Maurussus  whom  Felicitas  bore;  and 
thee  I  adjure  whoever  art  the  demon  of  the  under¬ 
world  by  these  holy  binding  names  : 

Maskellei  Maskello  Phnoukentabaoth  that  huntest 

upon  the  mountains  and  cleavest  the  earth . 

kerderosandale  kataneikandale  seize  him  and  make 
him  pale  mournful  sad  .  .  .  dumb  not  controlling 
himself  Maurussus  whom  Felicitas  bore;  in  every 
contest  in  every  fight  may  he  faint  and  fall  .  .  . 

369 


B  B 


APPENDIX 


Maurussus  whom  Felicitas  bore ;  in  the  ring  of  the 
amphitheatre  in  the  same  hour  may  Maurussus  suffer 
whom  Felicitas  bore ;  may  he  not  be  able  to  .  .  . 
may  he  be  misguidedj  utterly  misguided,  Maurussus 
whom  Felicitas  bore  ;  nor  may  he  be  able  to  fling  his 
lasso  over  the  bear,  nor  bind  it  .  .  .  may  his  arms  and 
strength  and  feet  be  bound,  may  he  not  be  able  to 
run,  may  he  grow  weary  and  lose  his  breath  and  spirit 
for  every  battle,  in  all  conflicts  may  he  be  torn,  beaten 
and  wounded  .  .  .  then  may  he  be  transfixed 

dragged  and  go  forth,  Maurussus  whom  Felicitas 
bore ;  .  .  .  swiftly  depress  fix  transfix  consume  .  .  . 
Maurussus  whom  Felicitas  bore ;  slackly  may  he 
.  .  .  the  bites  of  the  wild  beasts  .  .  .  bulls  boars 
and  lions  .  .  . 

Besides  other  enemies,  the  chief  objects  of  these 
imprecations  were  adversaries  at  law  and  performers 
in  the  Circus ;  there  are  also  a  number  of  love 
charms  extant.  Those  quoted  will  suffice  to  show' 
the  general  character  of  such  denunciations :  a 
solemn  invocation  of  deities  with  names  that  are 
sometimes  Greek,  sometimes  Hebraic  (Adonai,  lao, 
Michael,  etc.),  sometimes  a  mere  jumble  of  words 
and  syllables  with  any  or  no  meaning  :  the  curse, 
usually  of  an  exhaustive  character,  and  often  con¬ 
taining  phrases  repeated  over  and  over  again ;  in 
some  cases  there  is  reference  to  a  magical  action,  as 
in  the  sympathetic  magic  of  tying  down  the  cock 
and  the  puppy. 

References  to  magic  and  description  of  magical 
proceedings  are  not  uncommon  in  ancient  literature  ; 
the  subject  has  recently  been  excellently  treated  in 
a  book  entitled  Magic  in  Greek  and  Latin  Literature, 


370 


APPENDIX 


by  J.  E.  Lowe  (Blackwell),  who  considers  that  the 
Romans  regarded  magic  much  more  seriously  than 
the  Greeks ;  “  the  Greek  temperament  was  to  a 
great  extent  self-sufficing,  and  did  not  need  to  have 
recourse  to  such  extraneous  means  of  satisfying 
spiritual  wants  as  were  provided  by  the  black  ai’ts. 
The  Romans,  on  the  other  hand,  combined  in  a 
curious  manner  the  cold  and  calculating  character 
of  the  Stoics  with  tlie  quick  passions  and  emotions 
typical  of  all  southern  people.  It  was  at  the  meeting 
of  these  extremes  that  magic  stepped  in.”  We 
must  refer  the  reader  to  this  book  for  information 
upon  magical  practices  as  reflected  in  literature ; 
here  we  are  only  concerned  w'ith  imprecations, 
and  must  conclude  with  some  remarks  upon  two 
examples  of  that  literary  type  (if  it  can  be  so 
called),  the  Dime  and  the  Ibis. 

Both  contain  a  series  of  curses  directed  against 
an  offending  object,  in  the  one  case  a  personal 
enemy,  in  the  other  an  estate  from  which  the  writer 
has  been  evicted  and  which  has  passed  into  the 
hands  of  a  stranger.  In  the  Ibis  there  is  a  solemn 
appeal  to  deities,  67—86 :  this  is  lacking  in  the 
Dirae :  both  have  the  figure  referred  to  above  as 
uSvvarov,  Ib.  31-40,  Dir.  4-8,  98-101  :  the  Dirae  ha.s. 
something  in  the  nature  of  a  refrain,  lacking  in  the 
Ibis  :  the  refrain  is  familiar  in  literature  from  pieces 
such  as  Theocritus’  second  Idyll  and  Catullus,  Ixiv, 
and  we  have  seen  from  tlie  “  defixiones  ”  quoted 
above  that  repetition  of  a  phrase  is  a  feature  of 
magic  spells;  cf.  also  the  chant  of 'the  Furies  in 
the  Eumenides  of  Aeschylus,  321-346.  Of  the  two 
pieces,  however,  it  is  the  Ibis  that  breathes  more 
of  the  bitter,  relentless  spirit  of  the  magical  im- 

371 


B  B  2 


APPENDIX 


precations ;  we  do  not,  of  course,  know  how  closely 
it  was  copied  from  the  Ibis  of  Callimachus,  in  which 
he  attacked  his  literary  enemy,  Apollonius,  but  it 
is  impossible  to  forget  that  the  scene  of  that  earlier 
feud  was  Egypt,  the  true  home  of  magic  of  all  kinds, 
that  the  ibis  was  a  bird  used  in  magic  rites  (see  the 
Paris  Papyrus,  pp.  45,  47-49,  ed.  Wessely,  1888),  and 
that  the  enemy  whom  Ovid  attacks  was  also  a  native 
of  N.  Africa,  where  magic  specially  flourished. 

It  is  true  that  one  passage  in  the  Ibis  does  not 
altogether  bear  out  the  parallel  with  the  magical 
imprecation  ;  in  11.  97-106  he  refers  to  himself  as  a 
“  sacerdos  ”  and  to  Ibis  as  his  victim,  for  whom  the 
altar  is  prepared  and  all  the  circumstances  of  sacrifice 
are  ready.  It  is  not  likely  that sacerdos  ”  woidd 
ever  have  been  used  to  express  a  magician,  and 
again  in  1.  130  it  is  the  “  superi  ”  whom  his  prayers 
will  move ;  the  occasion  is  here  rather  that  of  a 
public  denunciation,  a  ^‘devotio”  in  the  sense  re- 
i'erred  to  above,  rather  than  in  the  sense  which  it 
often  does  bear,  that  of  a  magic  spell-binding ; 
Audollent  says  (p.  xl.),  “  tibi  audire  videaris  Roma¬ 
norum  imperatorem  Karthagini  diras  minitantem,” 
though  the  rest  of  the  poem  can  hardly  be  thought 
to  maintain  the  dignity  of  a  Roman  general ;  it  is 
much  too  personal,  too  obviously  inspired  by  personal 
hostility  and  resentment.  There  is  another  mark 
of  the  magical  incantation,  viz.  the  reference  to  the 
feigned  name,”  1.  93 ;  magicians  would  always 
take  care  that  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity 
of  the  person  attacked,  even  if  his  name  were  not 
given,  for  it  would  always  be  expressed  in  some 
riddling  way  (cf.  quern  mens  intelligit,  95)  ;  of  this 
Audollent  gives  instances  on  pp.  xl.  and  1. 

372 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


(A.  =  Ars  Amatoria,  0.  =  Consolatio  ad  Liviam,  H.  =  Halieuticon,  I.  =  Ibis, 
M.  =  de  Medicamine  Faciei,  N.  =  Fvx,  R,  =  Remedia  Amoris.) 


A 

Adanhades,  i.  403 
Abdera,  I.  467 
Abydenus,  I.  590 
Achaei,  I.  299,  541 
Achaemenides,  I.  415 ;  -ius,  A.  i.  226 
Achilles,  A.  i.  11,  441,  689,  701,  743, 
ii.  711,  741;  0.  433;  I.  627;  R. 
381,  473,  477,  777;  -cus  (adj.),  I. 
330;  -idos,  1.301 
Achivi,  R.  479 
Acrisius,  A.  iii.  631 
Acroceraunia,  R.  739 
Actorides,A.  i.  743 
Admetus,  A.  ii.  239  ;  I.  413 
Adonis,  A.  1.  75,  512,  iii.  85 
Aeacus,  I.  188;  -ides,  A.  i.  17,  091, 
ii.  736 ;  I.  305,  375 
Aegisthus,  R.  161 
Aegyptus,  A.  i.  647,  652 ;  I.  178 
Aeneas,  A.  i.  60,  iii.  86,  337 
Aeolius,  A.  i.  634 ;  -ides,  I.  473 
Aesonius,  A.  iii.  34;  -ides,  A.  ii.  103 
Aethalos,  I.  621 
Aethra,  I.  577 

Aetna,  I.  415,  598 ;  R.  491 ;  -aeus, 
A.  iii.  490;  1.269 
Aetolus,  R.  159 

Agamemnon,  R.  485 ;  -ius,  I.  627 
Agrippa,  0.  67,  69 
Aiax,  A.  iii.  111,  617,  523 
Alcathous,  A.  ii.  401 
Alcides,  A.  ili.  166 
Alcyones,  0.  107 
Aleia,  I.  627 
Aleuas,  I.  323,  611 
AUia,  A.  i.  413 ;  1.219;  R.  220 
Alpis,  A.  iii.  160;  0.  15;  -inus,  C. 
386 

Althaea,  I.  601 
Amaryllis,  A.  ii.  267,  iii.  183 


Amazon,  A.  ii  743,  iii.  1 
Ambracius,  I.  304 
Ammon,  A.  iii.  789;  -iacus,  M.  94 
Amoebeus,  A.  iii.  399 
Amor,  A.  i.  4,  7,  8,  17,  21,  23,  30,  79, 
S3,  232,  ii.  17,  18,  19,  158,  229, 
70S,  iii.  436,  659;  R.  1,  .39,  148, 
198,  246,  346,  368,  530,  551,  612, 
769;  Amores,  R.  379;  (title),  A. 
iii.  343 

Amphiaraus,  N.  110 
Amphilochi,  R.  455 
Amyclae,  A.  ii.  5;  -acus,  R.  707 
Amyntiades,  I.  295 
Amyntorides,  A.  i.  337;  I.  259 
Anaxarchus,  I.  571 
Andromache,  A.  ii.  645,  709,  iii.  109, 
519;  0. 319;  R.  383,  384 
Andromeda,  A.  i.  53,  ii.  643,  iii.  429 
Antaeus,  I.  395,  399 
Anytus,  I.  559 

Aonius,  A.  i.  312,  ii.  380,  iii.  547; 

N.  110;  I.  393 
Apelles,  A.  iii.  401 
Aphidantus,  I.  327 
Apollo,  A.  ii.  493 ;  R.  261,  489,  767 ; 

-ineus,  0.  459 ;  I.  264 
Appias,  A.  i.  82,  iii.  452 ;  R.  660 
Aquilo,  I.  11,  201 
Arctos,  I.  474 

Argoa,  R.  166;  -olicus,!.  576;  -olides, 
R.  735 

Argus,  A.  iii.  618 
Ariadna,  A.  iii.  35 
Arionius,  A.  iii.  326 
Armenius,  A.  i.  226 ;  C.  389 
Ascra,  A.  i.  28 ;  -aeus,  A.  ii.  4 
Astacides,  I.  515 
Astyanax,  0.  430 
Atalanta,  A.  ii.  185,  iii.  775 
Atarnites,  I.  319 
Athenae,  A.  iii.  213 ;  I.  523 


373 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Athos,  A.  ii.  617 ;  I.  202 ;  M.  30 
Atrides,  A.  i.  334,  ii.  371,  399,  iii.  11, 
12;  B.  467,  475,  779 
Atticus,  M.  82 
Attis,  I.  456 
Aulis,  I.  618 
Aura,  A.  iii.  701,  715 
Aurora,  A.  i.  330;  0.  281 
Ausonius,  C.  204 
Auster,  A.  iii.  174 
Automedon,  A.  i.  5,  8,  ii.  718 
Autonoe,  I.  471 
Avernus,  0.  445 


B 

Baccha,  A.  i.  312,  645,  iii.  710 
Bacchus,  A.  i.  189,  232,  556,  565,  iii. 
157,  348,  762;  I.  497;  11.  593, 
803 

Baiae,  A.  i.  255 
Battus,  I.  686;  -iades,X  55 
Belides,  A.  i.  74;  1.177,  356 
Berecyntiades,  I,  508 
Bistonius,  I.  379 
Blaesus,  I.  539 

Bona  Dea,  A.  i.  244;  (Diva),  A.  iii. 
637 

Bootes,  A.  ii.  65 

Boreas,  A.  ii.  431,  iii.  162 ;  N.  102 
Briseis,  A.  ii.  713,  iii.  189;  11.  777, 
783 

Broteas),  I.  517 
Busiris,  A.  i.  651 
Byblis,  A.  i.  283 ;  1.357 


0 

Cacus,  I.  490 

Caesar,  A.  i.  171,  177,  184,  203;  0. 
39,  59,  72,  209,  245,  381,  404,  420, 
442,  453, 465 ;  -is  flUa,  303 ;  conius, 
473 ;  uxor,  129  (of.  42,  344),  N.  143, 
(145);  B.  156 
Caicus,  A.  iii.  196 
Calabri,  A.  iii.  409 
Calchas,  A.  ii.  737 

Callimachus,  A.  iii.  329 ;  B.  381,  759, 
760 

Calliope,  I.  482 
Callirhoe,  I.  348 ;  B.  456 
Calymne,  A.  ii.  81 
Calypso,  A.  ii.  125,  129 
Campus,  A.  i.  513,  iii.  385 ;  C.  231 

374 


Canace,  I.  357 
Canicula,  A.  ii.  231 
Capaneus,  A.  iii.  21 
Caphereus,  E.  735 
Capitolium,  A.  iii.  715,  (C.  28) 
Cassandreus,  I.  461 
Castor,  A.  i.  746 
Gaucaseus,  A.  iii.  195 
L'ecropides,  A.  iii.  457 ;  -ius,  A.  i. 
172 

Cephalus,  A.  iii.  84,  69.5,  725,  738 
Cepheis,  A.  iii.  191 
Cephenes,  I.  554 
Cercyoneus,  I.  412 

Ceres,  A.  1.  401,  ii.  601 ;  I.  316,  411, 
419 ;  -alls,  M.  3 ;  B.  173 
Chaonis,  A.  ii.  150 
Chaos,  I.  84 
Charon,  (C.  358,  428) 

Charybdis,  I.  385 ;  B.  740 
Chiron,  A.  i.  17 

Chryses,  A.  ii.  402;  -eis;  E.  469 
Cilissa,  I.  208 
Cinyphius,  I.  222 

Circe,  A.  i.  333,  ii.  103;  B.  263,  287 

Circus,  A.  i.  408 

Clarius,  A.  ii.  80 

Cliniades,  I.  633 

Clio,  A.  i.  27 

Clotho,  C.  239 ;  I.  243 

Clymeno,  C.  Ill 

Clytemnestra,  N.  26 

Colchis,  B.  262 

Collina,  B.  547 

Concordia,  A.  ii.  463 

Corcyraeus,  I.  510 

Corinna,  A.  iii.  538 

Coroebus,  I.  575 

Corona,  A.  1.  558 

Coronides,  I.  406 

Cous,  A.  ii.  298,  iii.  329,  401 ;  B.  760 

Crassi,  A.  i.  179 

Cressa  A.  i.  327,  558  ;  -ia  I.  510 

Crcta,  A.  i.  298 ;  B.  773 

Creusa,  A.  i.  335 

Crotopiades,  I.  480 

Cupido,  A.  i.  233,  261;  B.  3,  555; 

-ineus,  B.  167 
Cybeleia,  A.  i.  507 ;  I.  453 
Cydippe,  A.  i.  457  ;  B.  382 
Cydnus,  A.  iii.  204 
Cydoneus,  A.  1.  293 ;  -ia,  A.  iii.  705 
Cylleneus,  A.  iii.  147 
Cyllenia,  A.  iii.  725 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Cynthia,  A.  iii.  636;  R.  764 
Cynthius,  A.  ii.  329 
Cyra,  I.  539 

Cytherea,  A.  ii.  15,  607,  iii.  43 


D 


Dacius,  0.  387 

Daedalus,  A.  ii.  23,  33,  74 

Damasichthon,  I.  581 

Danae,  A.  iii.  415;  -eius,  A.  i.  225; 

-i,  A.  ii.  735,  iii.  1 ;  R.  66 
Daphnis,  A.  i.  732 
Dardanius,  R.  58 
Dareus,  I.  315 
Daulias,  0.  106 
Daunius,  R.  797 
Deidamia,  A.  i.  704 
Delos,  A.  ii.  80 ;  I.  477 
Demodocus,!.  272 

Demophoon,  A.  ii.  353,  iii.  459 ;  R. 
697 


Dexamenus,  I.  404 
Dexione,  I.  270 
Dia,  A.  i.  628 

Diana,  A.  i.  259,  iii.  143 ;  I.  479,  695 
Dido,  R.  57 

Dione,  A.  ii.  593,  iii.  3,  769 
Dirce,  A.  i.  731 
Dolon,  A.  ii.  135 
Drusus,  C.  passim 
Dryantiades,  I.  345 
Dryops,  I.  488 

Dulichius,  I.  386;  R.  272,  699 


B 

Bcheoratides,  I.  293 
Edonus,  R.  593 
Elegeia,  R.  379 
Elissa,  A.  iii.  40 
Elpenor,  I.  485 
Elysius,  I.  173  _  _ 
Endymion,  A.  iii.  83 
Ennius,  A.  iii.  409 
Eous,  A.  i.  202,_  iii.  637 
Ephyraeus,  A.  i.  336 
Epistola,  A.  iii.  345 
Erato,  A.  ii.  16,  425 
Erebeus,  I.  227 
Erechtheus,  I.  336 
Eriphyle,  A.  iii.  13 
Eryx,  A.  ii.  420;  R.  560 
Euadne,  C.  321 


Euboicus,  I.  340,  492  ' 
Euenus,  I.  513 
Euhios,  A.  1.  563 
Bumenides,  I.  225 
Euphrates,  A.  i.  223 
Eupolis,!.  530 
Europe,  A.  i.  323 
Eurydamas,  I.  331 
Eurylochus,  1.  287 
Eurymides,  I.  270 
Eurytion,  A.  i.  693 

E 


Faunus,  I.  81 
Fors,  A.  i.  608 

Fortuna,  A.  ii.  266;  0.  61,  56,  349, 
371;  I.  122,  417,  423 
Furiae,  I.  183,  343 

G 

Galli,A.  iii.  334;  E.  765 
Gallicus,  A.  ii.  258 
Ganges,  I.  136 
Gargara,  A.  i.  67 

Germania,  0.  271 ;  -icus,  0.  335,  391, 
475 ;  -us,  A.  iii.  163 
Geta,  A.  iii.  332 ;  -icus,  I.  637 
Gigas,  I.  597 

Glaucus,  I.  655,  556  .  .  „ 

Gnosias,  A.  i.  293,  556;  -is,  A.  i.  527, 
iii.  158 ;  R.  745 
Gorge,  A.  ii.  700 
Gorgoneus,  A.  iii.  504 
Gradivus,  A.  ii.  566 ;  C.  23 
Graecia,  R.  164,  468;  -us,  N.  82 
Graius,  A.  i.  54,  686;  I.  340,  446 
Gratia,  A.  ii.  464 


H 

[adriacus,  H.  125 

[aedus,  A.  i.  410  ,  .  o 

[aemon,  I.  561 ;  Haemonius,  A.  i.  6, 
682,  ii.  99,  136 ;  R.  249 
[armonia,  A.  iii.  86 
[arpagides,  I.  645 
leoale,  E.  747  _ 

lector,  A.  i.  15,  44,  u.  646,  709 ;  0. 

429;  -eus,  A.  iii.  778 ;  1.664 
lelene,  A.  ii.  359,  365,  371,  699,  lu. 

11,  759;  R.  65 
leUen,  A.  iii.  176 


375 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Herceus,  I.  284 

Hercules,  A.  iii.  168 ;  I.  253,  293 ; 
-eus,  A.  i.  68;  0.  257;  I.  605; 
R.  47 

Hermione,  A.  i.  745,  ii.  699 ;  E.  771 
Hesperius,  N.  Ill 
Hippodamia,  A.  ii.  8 
Hippolytus,  A.  i.  338,  511 
Hlppomeneis,  I.  335 
Hlpponous,  I.  470 
Hispanus,  A.  iU.  646 
Homerus,  A.  ii.  109,  279,  280,  iii. 
413;  R.  382,  685 

Hybla,  A.  ii.  517,  iii.  150;  I.  199; 

-aeus,  A.  ii.  191 
Hylas,  A.  ii.  110 
Hymenaeus,  A.  i.  563 
Hymettus,  A.  iii.  687 ;  -ius,  A.  ii. 
423 

Hypsipyle,  I.  483 
Hyrtacides,  I.  632 


I 

lanus,  I.  65 ;  R.  561 
lason,  A.  iii.  33 
Iazyges,  I.  135 

Ibis,  I.  55,  59,  62,  95,  100,  220 
Icarus,  A.  ii.  76,  93-5 ;  I.  611 ;  -ius, 
I.  568;  N.  118;  -is,  I.  391 
Ida,  A.  i.  289;  I.  197;  -aea,  E.  454; 

-aeus,  A.  i.  684 
Idalia,  A.  ill.  106 
Idmon,  I.  504 

Hios,  A.  i.  363;  R.  163;  -ias,  A.  iii. 
414;  -iades,  0.  241;  -iacus,  A.  i. 
686,  0.  434;  I.  496 ;  -ia,  I.  169 
Inachis,  A.  iii.  464 

India,  A.  i.  190;  M.  10;  -us,  A.  i. 
53,  iii.  130 

Hlyricus,  A.  ii.  658;  M.  33 

Inous,  A.  iii.  176 

lo,  A.  i.  323 ;  I.  622 

lole,  A.  iii.  156 

Ionicus,  A.  ii.  219 

Iphias,  A.  iii.  22 

Iris,  I.  417 

Iros,  R.  747 

Isargus,  0.  386 

Isis,  I.  621 

Ister,  I.  136 

Itys,  0.  106 

ludaeus,  A.  i.  76 

376 


luno,  A.  i.  625,  627,  635;  C.  403; 
-onia,  M.  33 

luppiter,  A.  i.  78,  188,  633,  636,  650, 
651,  713,  714,  726,  ii.  38,  540,  623, 
iii.  116,  379,  420,  654;  0.  21,  28, 
196,  214,  304,  401 ;  I.  68,  211,  214, 
284,  298,  313,  328,  432,  469;  R. 
370 

K 

Kalendae,  A.  i.  405 ;  I.  65 ;  R.  561 


L 

Laestrygonius,  I.  388 
Laodamia,  R.  724 
Lar,  I.  81;  R.  237,  239,  302 
Larisaeus,!.  323,  332 
Latium,  A.  i.  202,  iii.  338;  -ius,  A. 
i.  414 

Latmius,  A.  iii.  83 

Latonia,  I.  477 

Leander,  A.  ii.  249 

Lebynthos,  A.  ii.  80 

Leda,  A.  iii.  261 ;  -aeus,  C.  283 

Lemnos,  A.  ii.  579 ;  -ias,  A.  iii.  672 ; 

-ius,  I.  396 
Lenaeus,  I.  329 
Leo,  A.  i.  68 
Leoprepides,  I.  512 
Lethaeus,  A. iii.  340,  648;  R.  551 
Leuoon,  I.  310 
Liber,  A.  i.  525,  iii.  101 
Libycus,  I.  198,  313 ;  M.  53;  E.  797 
Limon,  I.  459 

Livia,  A.  i.  72 ;  0.  3,  40,  56,  168,  195, 
350,  426,  474 
Livor,  E.  365,  369,  389 
Locris,  I.  352 
Lotophagi,  E.  789 
Lucanus,  H.  68 
Lucifer,  0.  406,  407 
Lucina,  A.  iii.  785 
Luna,  A.  iti.  83 ;  M.  42 ;  R.  258 
Lyaeus,  A.  iii.  645,  765 
Lycambeus,  I.  64 
Lycaonius,  I.  431 
Lycophron,  I.  631 
Lycoris,  A.  iii.  537 
Lycus,  I.  636 

Lycurgus,  I.  607 ;  -ides,  I,  603 
Lydia,  I.  459 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Lyrnesis,  A.  ii.  403,  711; 
463 


M 


-ins,  I. 


Macareus,  I.  562 
Macelo,  I.  475 

Machaonius,  A.  ii.  491 ;  B.  546 
Maenalius,  A.  i.  272,  ii.  19.3 
Maeonius,  A.  ii.  4 ;  E.  373 
Maia,  I.  214,  471 
Mamertas,  I.  648 
Marcellus,  0.  67,  441 
Mars,  A.  i.  203,  212,  333,  406,  ii. 
562-3,  588;  I.  215;  E.  6,  153 
469 ;  -tius,  0.  246 ;  Mavors,  A.  ii. 
585;  0.  231 

Marsus,  A.  ii.  102 ;  M.  39 
Medeis,  A.  ii.  101 
Medusa,  A.  ii.  309 ;  I.  447,  653 
Megaris,  E.  798 
Melantheus,  I.  623 

Memphitious,  A.  i.  77;  -is,  A.  iii. 
391 


Menelaus,  A.  ii.  359,  361 ;  E.  65,  773 
Methymna,  A.  i.  67 
Milanion,  A.  ii.  188,  iii.  775 
Mimallonides,  A.  i.  641 
Minerva,  A.  ii.  659;  G.  403;  I.  379, 
617;  N. 12  ■ 

Minos,  A.  i.  302,  309,  ii.  21,  26,  3o, 
52,  53,  97 ;  E.  453  ;  -ius,  I.  289 ; 
-is  (fern.),  A.  i.  509 ;  -us,  I.  509 
Mors,  0.  360,  443 
Mulciber,  A.  ii.  562,  677 
Musa,  A.  ii.  279,  704,  iii.  330,  412, 
468,  790;  I.  2;  E.  12,  362,  387, 
609,  762 

Myron,  A.  iii.  219 

Myrrha,  A.  i.  285 ;  I.  360 ;  E.  100 

Myrtous,  I.  370 

Mysus,  A.  iii.  196 


N 


Nais,  A.  i.  732,  ii.  110 
Naso,  A.  ii.  744,  iii.  812 ;  I.  4 ; 
72,  608 

Naupliades,  I.  619 
Naxos,  A.  ii.  79 
Nemesis,  A.  iii.  636 
Neptunus,  A.  i.  333,  ii.  587 ; 
E.  743 

Neritiae,  E.  264 


E.  71, 


I.  275; 


Nero,  0.  1,  85,  143,  157,  289,  345, 
383,  451 

Nessus,  I.  404;  -eus,  I.  491 
Nestor,  A.  ii.  736 
Niliacus,  A.  iii.  318 
Nireus,  A.  ii.  109 

Nisus,  A.  i.  331 ;  1.362;  E.  68;  -ois, 
E.  737 

Nonacrinus,  A.  ii.  185 
Numida,  A.  ii.  183 
Nyctelius,  A.  i.  667 
Nyctimene,  I.  360 


O 


Oceanus,  0.  438 
Octavia,  0.  441 
Odrysius,  A.  ii.  130 ;  E.  459 
Oeager,  I.  482 

Oebalides,  I.  588 ;  -ius,  E.  458 
Oeclides,  A.  iii.  13 
Oenides,  0.  257 
Oenone,  E.  457 
Oeta,  0.  257 ;  -aeus,  I.  347 
Orestes,  I.  627 ;  E.  589,  771 
Orion,  A.  i.  731,  ii.  56 
Orpheus,  A.  iii.  321 ;  1.600 
Ossa,  I.  285 


P 


Paean,  A.  ii.  1  , 

Pagasaeus,  A.  iii.  19 
Palaestinus,  A.  i.  416 
Palatia,  A.  i.  105,  iii.  119,  389 
Palinurus,  I.  694;  E.  577 
Pallas,  A.  i.  625,  692,  745,  ii.  518,  iii. 
506 ;  N.  28 ;  -adius,  A.  ii.  727 ;  I. 
266 

Pannonius,  C.  390 
Panope,  O.  435 
Panthoides,  I.  447 

Paphos,  A.  ii.  588;  -ius,  A.  iii.  181; 
I.  440 

Paraetonicus,  A.  iii.  390 
Parca,  O.  73,  164 

Paris,  A,  i.  247,  775 ;  E.  65,  475,  573, 
711 


Paros,  A.  ii.  80 

Parthus,  A.  1.  179,  201,  209,  211,  212, 
ii.  176,  iii.  248,  786;  E.  156,  157, 


224 


Pasiphae,  A.  i.  295,  303 ;  I.  90 ;  E, 


63,  453 


377 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Pelasgus,  A.  ii.  421,  541 
Pelias,  A.  i.  696 ;  B.  48 
Pelops,  I.  179,  585;  -eus,  I.  359 
Penelope,  A.  i.  477,  ii.  355,  iii.  15 
Penthesilea,  A.  iii.  2 ;  B.  676 
Penthilades,  I.  607 
Pergama,  A.  i.  478,  ii.  139 ;  B.  66 
PerUlus,  A.  i.  653 ;  -eus,  I.  437 
Persis,  A.  i.  172,  225 ;  -eis,  B.  263 ; 
-eus,  A.  i.  53 

Phaedra,  A.  i.  511,  744;  B.  64,  743 
Phalaeceus,  I.  602 
Phalaris,  A.  i.  653 ;  I.  439 
Pharius,  A.  iii.  270,  635 
Phasis,  A.  iii.  33;  -ias,  A.  ii.  103, 
382;  -iacus,  I.  603;  B.  261 
Phegis,  B.  455 
Pheraeus,  A.  ii.  239;  1.321 
Pheretiades,  A.  iii.  19 
Philljrides,  A.  i.  11 
Philomela,  B.  61 

Phineus,  A.  i.  339;  B.  355;  -idae,  I. 
271 

Phoebus,  A.  i.  25,  330,  745,  ii.  241, 
509,  697,  iii.  119,  142,  347,  389; 
I.  25,  128,  466,  573;  B.  6,  76,  200, 
256  585,  704-6;  -eus,  A.  iii.  789 ; 
-e,  A.  i.  679 ;  I.  109 
Phoenix,  A.  i.  337 
Phrixus,  A.  iii.  175,  336 
Phryx,  I.  508,  628;  -gius,  A.  i.  54, 
508,  625,  u.  714;  I.  454,  552 
Phylacides,  A.  ii.  356,  iii.  17 
PhyUis,  A.  ii.  353,  iii.  38,  460;  B. 

55,  591,  606,  607 ;  -eius,  A.  iii.  783 
Pierides,  A.  iii.  648 
Pirithous,  A.  i.  744 
Pisa,  1.  325;  -aeus,  I.  366 
Pleiades,  A.  i.  409 
Plisthenius,  B..  778 
Podalirius,  A.  ii.  735;  B.  313 
Poeantius,  I.  253 ;  B.  111 
Poenus,  I.  389 
Polydorus,  N.  109 
Polyphemon,  I.  407 
Polyphemus,  I.  387 
Pompeius,  A.  i.  67,  iii.  387 
Pontus,  0.  388 ;  I.  27 ;  -icus,  N.  166 
Potniades,  I.  655 

Priamus,  A.  i.  441,  685,  iii.  440 ;  -eis, 

A.  ii.  405 ;  -eius  A.  ii.  5 ;  -ides,  A. 
ili.  759 

Procris,  A.  iii.  686,  701,  714,  727; 

B.  453 

378 


Prometheus,  I.  291 
Propertius,  A.  iii.  333 
Psamathe,  I.  573 
Pterelas,  I.  362 
Pudor,  A.  i.  608 
Punicus,  0.  452 
Puteal,  B.  561 
Pylades,  A.  i.  745;  E.  589 
Pyrrha,  I.  544 
Pyrrhus,  I.  303 


B 

Baeti,  0.  175 
Bamnes,  I.  631 
Bemus,  0.  241 ;  I.  635 
Bhenus,  0.  385 

Bhesus,  A.  ii.  137,  140 ;  I.  629,  630 
Bhodopeius,  A.  iii.  321 ;  I.  345 
Boma,  A.  i.  55,  59,  iii.  113;  0.  246; 
B.  223 ;  -anus,  A.  i.  209,  459 ;  0. 
19,  173,  284,  356;  I.  281;  -ulus, 
A.  i.  101,  131;  N.  138 
Eutulus,  I.  631 


S 

Sabmae,  A.  i.  102 ;  M.  11 

Sacra  Via,  A.  ii.  266 

Samos,  A.  ii.  79,  602 

Sappho,  A.  iii.  331;  B.  761 

Sardanapalus,  I.  312 

Sarmaticus,  I.  637 

Saturnus,  I.  273,  405 ;  -ius,  N.  63 

Satyri,  A.  i.  642,  iii.  157 

Scipio,  A.  iii.  410 

Sciron,  I.  407 

Scylla,  I.  385 

Scyrias,  A.  i.  682 

Semele,  A.  iii.  251 ;  I.  278 

Seriphos,  A.  iii.  192 

Sicambri,  0.  17,  311 

Sicanus,  I.  598 ;  -ulus,  I.  199,  415 

Sicyon,  I.  317 

Sidonis,  A.  iii.  252 ;  -ius,  I.  446 
Simois,  A.  ii.  134 
Sinis,  I.  407 

Sirenes,  A.  iii.  311;  E.  789 
Sisyphus,  I.  175,  191;  -ides,  A.  iii. 
313 

Sithonis,  E.  606 ;  -ius,  A.  ii.  137 

Socraticus,  I.  494 

Sol,  A.  ii.  573,  676;  E.  276 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Somnus,  A.  ii.  646 
Spes,  A.  i.  445 
Sphinx,  I.  378 

Styx,  A.  i.  636,  li.  41,  iii.  14;  -gins, 
A.  ii.  41;  0.  410,  432;  I.  163,  226, 
592,  634 

Suevi,  0.  17,  302 
Syracosius,  I.  649 
Syrtes,  E..  739 
Syrus,  A.  i.  76,  416 


T 

Talaionius,  A.  iii.  13 
Talaus,  I.  354 

Tantalus,  A.  ii.  606;  -ides,  I.  434 
Tartara,  I.  493,  574;  -eus,  A.  iii. 
322;  I.  185 

Tatius,  A.  iii.  118  ;  M.  11 
Tauri,  I.  438 ;  -ica,  I.  384 
Tecmessa,  A.  iii.  617,  519 
Tegeaeus,  A.  ii.  55 
Teius,  A.  iii.  330  ;  E..  762 
Telamonius,  A.  ii.  737 
Telemus,  I.  270 
Teleus,  I.  434 
Temesaeus,  M.  41 

Thais,  A.  iii.  604;  11.  383,  381,  385, 
386 

Thalia,  A.  i.  264 
Thamyras,  A.  iii.  399 ;  I.  272 
Thebae,  I.  634 ;  -ais,  A.  iii.  778 
Therapnaeus,  A.  iii.  4 
Therodamanteus,  I.  383 
Thersites,  E.  482 

Theseus,  A.  i.  609,  531,  551,  iii.  35, 
547;  -eus  (adj.),  A.  iii.  459;  I. 
412,  459 

Thessalus,  I.  285 
Thestias,  E.  271 
Theudotus,  I.  466 
Thiodamas,  I.  488 
Thoanteus,  I.  384 
Thrace,  I.  135 
Thrasius,  A.  i.  649 
Thrasyllus,  I.  331 


Threce,  A.  ii.  688 ;  -icius,  A.  ii.  431, 
602,  iii.  182;  1.381 
Thyestes,  I.  359,  545 ;  -eus,  A.  i.  327 ; 
-iades,  A.  ii.  407 

Tiberis,  I.  138;  -inus,  I.  514;  E. 
257 

Tibullus,  A.  iii.  334 
Tigris,  A.  i.  224 
Tiphys,  A.  i.  6,  8 
Tirynthius,  A.  i.  187,  ii.  2J1 
Tisamenus,  I.  348 
Trasus,  I.  478 
Trinacrius,  I.  597 

Troia,  A.  ii.  127,  133,  iii.  439;  E. 
281,  368 ;  -anus,  I.  252 ;  -icus,  A. 
iii.  254 ;  I.  416 

Tydeus,  I.  350,  428 ;  -ides,  E.  5 
Tyndaris,  A.  i.  746,  ii.  408;  -eus,  I. 
354 

V 

Varro,  A.  iii.  335 

Venus,  A.  i.  7,  33,  75,  81,  87,  148,  165, 
244,  248,  275,  362,  386,  406,  608, 
675,  719,  ii.  397,  414,  459,  480,  562, 
565,  582,  609,  613,  659,  679,  701, 
717,  ui.  85,  224,  401,  451,  466,  564, 
609,  762,  787,  793,  797,  805;  I. 
211,  351,  577;  E.  103,  143,  159, 
200,  357,  405,  407,  431,  712,  800, 
802,  805 

VergUius,  E.  396 
Vesper,  A.  iii.  537 
Vesta,  A.  iii.  463 
Virgo,  A.  iii.  385,  388 
Virtus,  A.  iii.  23 
Vltxes,  A.  ii.  103,  123,  355 
Vmber,  A.  iii.  303 

Vrbs,  A.  i.  174,  iii.  633 ;  E.  291,  292 
Vulcanus,  A.  ii.  569,  574,  589,  741; 
I.  Ill 

Z 

Zephyrus,  A.  ii.  432,  iii.  728,  693; 
I.  33 

Zoiius,  E.  366 


379 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


{Note :  the  first  liue  only  of  any  passage  is  quoted.) 


Animals,  A.  i.  93,  279,  ii.  147  341, 
373,  481,  617,  iii.  77,  419  r  17.166; 
E.  169,  235,  614,  633 
Art,  works  of,  A.  iii.  219 

Banquets,  A.  i.  229,  666,  iii.  749 
Beard,  A.  i.  518 
Beaver,  N.  165 
Bees,  A.  i.  95 
Birthday-cake,  A.  i.  429 
Body,  care  of,  A  1.  605,  iii.  193 ; 
E.  351 

Campaigns,  A.  i.  191;  C.  16,  311; 
E.  165,  224 

Ciimate  dangerous,  A.  ii.  315 
Colours  of  stuffs,  A.  iii.  171 
Cosmetics,  A.  iii.  199,  M ;  E.  361 
Curling  irons,  A.  i.  505,  ii.  304 

Dancing,  A.  i.  596,  iii.  349 ;  E.  753 
Dandies,  A.  iii.  443 
Days,  Sabbaths,  etc.,  A.  i.  406;  E. 
220 

Debt,  E.  561 

Ear-rings,  A.  i.  432,  iii.  129 
Eggs,  A.  ii.  330,  423 
Egyptian  music,  A.  iii.  318 
Expedition  of  0.  Caesar,  A.  i.  177 

Fillets,  A.  i.  32,  ii.  401 ;  E.  386 ;  cf. 

A.ii.  600 
Fortune,  0.  371 
Funeral  procession,  0. 177 

Gait,  A.  iii.  299 

Gaming,  A.  1.  461,  ii.  203;  N.  71 
(games  with  nuts) 

Garlands  on  trees,  N.  9 


Hair,  dressing  of,  A.  iii.  137,  163, 
233 

Honey,  A.  ii.  423 
Huckster,  A.  i.  421 ;  E.  306 

Kisses,  A.  i.  575,  669,  ii.  469,  651,  iii. 
310;  E.  794 

Letter-writing,  A.  i.  437,  ii.  396,  643, 
iii.  469,  619 ;  E.  717 
Literature,  A.  iii.  329;  E.  375,  767 
Litters,  A.  i.  487  ;  E.  663 

Magic,  Purification,  etc.,  A.  ii.  100, 
329,  601;  iii.  353,  E.  260,  290 
Maid-servants,  slaves,  etc.,  A.  i.  361, 
ii.  261,  289,  525,  635,  iii.  239,  486, 
607,  666 ;  E.  639 

Manumission,  rod  of,  A.  iii.  615; 
E.  74 

Medical  remedies,  A.  ii.  415;  E.  131, 
796 

Men’s  sports,  A.  i.  46,  391,  723,  iii. 

382,  427  ;  E.  121, 199 
Metres,  E.  373 

Names,  flattering  and  otherwise,  A. 
ii.  667,  ui.  624 ;  E.  326 

Ovid’s  experiences,  A.  ii.  169,  651, 
683,  iii.  121,  664;  E.  311,  499, 
663 


Poets,  A.  iii.  533 

Porticoes,  A.  i.  67,  491,  iii.  168,  387 
Primitive  nature,  A.  ii.  467 
Presents,  A.  1.  417,  ii.  263,  iii.  631, 
652 

381 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


Eome,  places  in,  A.  i.  67,  iii.  387, 
451 

Eustio  life,  E.  169 

Sailing,  A.  ii.  429,  725,  iii.  99  ;  E.  70, 
447 

Scandal-mongering,  A.  ii.  626 
Seeing  double,  A.  iii.  764 
Shows,  A.  i.  136  (Oircua),  171  (Naval 
sham  fight),  213  (Triumph),  497,  iii. 
231,  351;  E.  751  (Theatres),  A. 
iii.  633  (various) 

Stoning,  N.  23 

Strolling  in  Eome,  A.  i.  487 ;  E. 
627 


Suicide,  E.  17 

Sulphur,  A.li.  330;  E.  260,  731 

Tears,  A.  i.  659 
Theatre,  A.  i.  103,  133 ;  E.  751 
Toilet,  A.  iii.  209 
Tortoise-shell,  A.  iii.  147 
Trees,  A.  iii.  689 

Wainut  stain, N.  155 
Windows,  A.  ii.  246,  iii.  644 
Wives,  A.  ii.  155,  iii.  685,  611 ;  E. 
565 

Women’s  garments,  A.  i.  31,  32,  ii. 
171,  297,  600,  iii.  129,  267 


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DEMUS.  W.  R.  M.  Lamb. 

PLATO  :  LAWS.  Rev.  R.  G.  Bury.  2  Vols. 

PLATO:  LYSIS,  SYMPOSIUM,  GORGIAS.  W.  R.  M. 
Lamb. 

PLATO:  STATESMAN,  PHILEBUS.  H.  N.  Fowler; 
ION.  W.  R.  M.  Lamb. 

PLATO :  THEAETETUS  and  SOPHIST,  H.  N.  Fowler. 
{2.7id  Imp.) 

PLATO,  TIMAEUS,  CRITIAS,  CLITOPHO.  MENEXE- 
NUS,  EPISTULAE.  Rev.  R.  G.  Bury. 

PLUTARCH:  MORALIA.  F.  C.  Babbitt.  14  Vols.  Vols. 

I.  and  H. 

PLUTARCH:  THE  PARALLEL  LIVES.  B.  Perrin,  ii 
Vols.  (Vols.  I.,  H.  and  VH.  2nd  Imp.) 

POLYBIUS.  W.  R.  Baton.  6  Vols. 

PROCOPIUS:  HISTORY  OF  THE  WARS.  H.  B. 
Dewing.  7  Vols.  I.-V. 

QUINTUS  SMYRNAEUS.  A.  S.  Way.  Verse  trans. 
SOPHOCLES.  F.  Storr.  2  Vols.  (Vol,  I.  5M  Inip.,  Vol. 

II.  \th  Intp.)  Verse  trans. 

ST.  BASIL:  LETTERS.  R.  J.  Deferrari.  4  Vols.  Vols.  I. 
and  H. 

ST.  JOHN  DAMASCENE  :  BARLAAM  AND  IOAS.4PH. 
Rev.  G.  R.  Woodward  and  Harold  Mattingly. 

STRABO ;  GEOGRAPHY.  Horace  L.  Jones.  8  Vols. 
Vols.  I. -VI, 

THEOPHRASTUS;  CHARACTERS.  J.  M.  Edmonds; 
HERODES,  etc.  A.  D.  Knox. 

THEOPHRASTUS:  ENQUIRY  INTO  PLANTS.  Sir 
Arthur  Hort,  Bart.  2  Vols. 

THUCYDIDES.  C.  F.  Smith.  4  Vols.  (Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp. 
revised.) 

XENOPHON  :  CYROPAEDIA.  Walter  Miller.  2  Vols. 
(Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 


6 


XENOPHON :  HELLENICA,  ANABASIS,  APOLOGY, 
AND  SYMPOSIUM.  C.  L.  Brownson  and  O.  J.  Todd. 
3  Vols. 

XENOPHON :  MEMORABILIA  and  OECONOMICUS. 
E.  C.  Marchant. 

XENOPHON:  SCRIPTA  MINORA.  E.  C.  Marchant. 


IN  PREPARATION 


Greek  Authors 

ARISTOTLE,  METAPHYSICS.  H.  Tredennick. 

ARISTOTLE,  ON  THE  MOTION  AND  PROGRESSION 
OF  ANIMALS.  E.  S.  Forster. 

ARISTOTLE,  ORGANON.  W.  M.  L.  Hutchinson. 

ARISTOTLE,  POLITICS  and  ATHENIAN  CONSTI¬ 
TUTION.  H.  Rackham. 

DEMOSTHENES,  OLYNTHIACS,  PHILIPPICS,  LEP- 
TINES  AND  MINOR  SPEECHES.  J.  H.  Vince. 

DEMOSTHENES,  MEIDIAS,  ANDROTION,  ARISTO- 
CRATES,  TIMOCRATES.  J.  H.  Vince. 

DEMOSTHENES,  PRIVATE  ORATIONS.  G.  M.  Calhoun. 

DIO  CHRYSOSTOM.  J.  W.  Cohoon. 

GREEK  IAMBIC  AND  ELEGIAC  POETS  and  the 
ANACREONTEA  J.  M.  Edmonds. 

LYSIAS.  W.  R.  M.  Lamb. 

MANETHO.  S.  de  Ricci. 

PAPYRI.  A,  S.  Hunt. 

PHILOSTRATUS,  IMAGINES.  Arthur  Fairbanks. 
PLATO,  REPUBLIC.  Paul  Shorey. 

SEXTUS  EMPIRICUS.  Rev.  R.  G.  Bury. 


7 


Latin  Authors 


AMMIANUS  MARCELLINUS.  J.  C,  Rolfe. 

BEDE,  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  J.  E.  King. 

CICERO,  IN  CATILINAM,  PRO  FLACCO,  PRO 
MURENA,  PRO  SULLA.  B.  L.  Ullman. 

CICERO,  DE  NATURA  DEORUM.  H.  Rackhani. 
CICERO,  DE  ORATORE,  ORATOR,  BRUTUS.  Charles 
Stuttaford. 

CICERO,  IN  PISONEM,  PRO  SCAURO,  PRO  FONTEIO, 
PRO  MILONE,  etc.  N.  H.  Watts. 

CICERO,  PRO  QUINCTIO,  PRO  ROSCIO  AMERINO, 
PRO  ROSCIO  COMOEDO,  CONTRA  RULLUM.  J.  H. 
Freese. 

CICERO,  PRO  SEXTIO,  IN  VATINIUM,  PRO  CAELIO, 
PRO  PROVINCIIS  CONSULARIBUS,  PRO  BALBO. 
J.  H.  Freese. 

ENNIUS,  LUCILIUS  and  other  specimens  of  Old  Latin. 
E.  H.  Warmington. 

MINUCIUS  FELIX.  W.  C.  A.  Ker. 

OVID,  FASTI.  Sir  J.  G.  Frazer. 

PLINY,  NATURAL  HISTORY.  W.  H.  S.  Jones  and  L.  F. 
N  ewman. 

ST.  AUGUSTINE,  MINOR  WORKS.  J.  H.  Baxter. 

ST.  JEROME’S  LETTERS.  F.  A.  Wright. 

SIDONIUS,  LETTERS.  E.  V.  Arnold  and  W.  B.  Anderson. 
TACITUS,  ANNALS.  John  Jackson. 

TERTULLIAN  ;  APOLOGY.  T.  R.  Glover. 

VALERIUS  FLACCUS.  A.  F.  Scholfield. 

VITRUVIUS,  DE  ARCHITECTURA.  F.  Granger. 

DESCRIPTIVE  PROSPECTUS  ON  APPLICATION 


London  -  -  WILLIAM  HEINEMANN 

New  York  -  -  -  G.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 


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